Indian Army constructs 70-feet Bailey Bridge in flood-hit Sikkim in less than 72 hours

Gangtok (Sikkim)[India], June 27 (ANI): Army engineers of Trishakti Corps constructed a 70 feet Bailey Bridge on Gangtok’s Dikchu-Sanklang road within 72 hours to restore connectivity to areas cut off due to recent floods in Sikkim.

As per PRO Defence, Guwahati, the construction work 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,” PRO Defence, Guwahati.

“The recent floods in Sikkim has 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 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.

Incessant rains since June 11 have wreaked havoc in North Sikkim. The unprecedented heavy rains have caused multiple landslides and breaches on roads leading to North Sikkim, such as Dikchu-Sanklang-Toong, Mangan-Sanklang, Singtham-Rangrang, and Rangrang-Toong, severing connectivity to the region.

Earlier on June 23, Indian Army engineers from Trishakti Corps constructed a 150-foot suspension bridge in North Sikkim to re-connect the border villages that got cut off due to continued heavy rains, giving respite to the locals living in those locations, the army said.