Army Engineers Construct 70-Foot Bridge In Flood Hit Sikkim Within 72 Hours — WATCH

Army engineers built a 70-foot Bailey Bridge in Gangtok within 72 hours to reconnect areas isolated by Sikkim floods. The bridge will enable vehicular access and facilitate aid delivery to the affected regions.

Army engineers from the Trishakti Corps constructed a 70-foot Bailey Bridge on the Dikchu-Sanklang road in Gangtok within 72 hours to restore connectivity to areas isolated by recent floods in Sikkim.

According to the report of PRO Defence, Guwahati, the construction work of the bridge started on June 23 and was completed within 72 hours.

"Supporting the efforts of BRO and local administration in restoring connectivity and getting normalcy back to areas cut off due to recent floods in Sikkim, Army engineers of Trishakti Corps constructed a 70 feet Bailey Bridge on road Dikchu - Sanklang, braving incessant rains & challenging technical constraints," said PRO Defence, Guwahati, according to ANI.

"The recent floods in Sikkim have led to disruptions of road communications to many areas in North Sikkim. Responding to the calls for rebuilding efforts, the Army engineers constructed a Bailey bridge at Dett Khola on the Dikchu-Sanklang axis. The work started on 23th Jun & completed within 72 hours, working under challenging weather conditions. The bridge is an important link to enable vehicular traffic from Dikchu to Sanklang towards Chungthang. The bridge will assist in providing basic necessities including critical medical aid for the affected people of Mangan district," as per the PRO Defence.

"Mr Pintso Namgyal Lepcha, State Forest Minister and state secretary of Disaster Management visited the site on 27 Jun 24 & appreciated the efforts of the Indian Army in completing the bridge at a fast pace," the PRO Defence stated.

Since June 11, continuous rainfall has wreaked havoc in North Sikkim, triggering numerous landslides and road breaches that have disrupted connectivity to the region. Key routes such as Dikchu-Sanklang-Toong, Mangan-Sanklang, Singtham-Rangrang, and Rangrang-Toong have been affected.

According to the army, on June 23, Indian Army engineers from Trishakti Corps built a 150-foot suspension bridge in North Sikkim, restoring access to border villages that had been isolated due to the persistent heavy rains, and providing relief to the local residents.