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| The site at Rolep where some of the houses were washed away on Thursday morning; and (above) the spot where the first landslide struck. Pictures by Prabin Khaling |
Gangtok, June 8: The Sikkim chief minister today ordered the East District administration to rebuild in a month houses for the families displaced by a series of landslides at Rolep.
Pawan Chamling today visited the village and handed over an ex gratia of Rs 1.5 lakh to the next of kin of each of the seven persons killed in the landslides. He also presented Rs 10,000 each to seven persons who suffered minor injuries.
“I have ordered the East Sikkim collector and the (housing and building) department concerned to take steps to construct new houses for the landslide victims and repair homes that were partially damaged. I have told officials to prepare a report on the cost and time needed to build the houses and submit it to my office for approval,” Chamling told journalists after presenting the compensation at Rolep Primary School.
The chief minister ordered the officials present at the school to complete the houses in a month.
Six houses were completely destroyed and five were partially damaged when three back-to-back landslides hit Rolep, 85km from here, around 4am yesterday.
The state government will also bear the educational expenses of three children who lost their parents in the incident. “It is very painful to see the children becoming orphans. The government will send the three children to best private schools in Gangtok from the next academic year,” said Chamling.
Amrita Rai, 16, and her seven-year-old brother Susant lost their parents and two siblings when their house was hit by the landslide. Eight-year-old Biswadeep Rai’s mother also died in the incident.
All the seven people killed in the tragedy were cremated this afternoon in the presence of local officials and panchayat representatives.
The debris along the Rongli-Rolep road have been cleared by the local administration. At least 10 landslides had occurred on the road the same day, holding up aid from the nearest SSB camp in Rhenock for hours. The landslides had been triggered by incessant overnight rain.
A temporary camp was opened at Sokeytar (5km far from Rolep) today to accommodate the displaced villagers. More than 60 people have taken shelter in the camp.
“All basic amenities such as drinking water, blankets and solar lights have been provided to the camp,” said the chief minister.
Zilla parishad chief Bimal Dawari said the camp was being run by the local panchayat and the Rongli subdivisional office. “Apart from the homeless, people who are refusing to stay at their houses fearing landslips at night have also taken shelter in the camp.”
East district collector D. Anandan said a compensation of Rs 35,000 each was given today to the families, whose pucca houses had been washed away. The government also gave Rs 5,000 each for the partially damaged houses.
In another incident, Kaluk-Dentam road in West Sikkim was blocked by a landslide this morning. The West district collector, Shanta Pradhan, said workers had been pressed into service to clear the road.
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