Keonjhar: After facing a harrowing time full of uncertainty, the tourists stuck in calamity-hit Sikkim have finally been rescued and brought back home. Over 1,500 people including tourists from Odisha were stranded in the Himalayan state at different places after road communication was disconnected following landslides due to severe downpours. Two families of the Mayurbhanj district have returned home and thanked the state government and the media for the support they received. “Media support proved to be really helpful for us. Due to the support of the state government, the Sikkim government arranged food and rescue support,” said Tapas Behera from Bisoi village, who was one of the five tourists of Mayurbhanj district stuck in Sikkim.
According to them, one officer from the state government reached out to them over the phone and gave them a number to contact someone in Sikkim. However, due to regular network failures, they were disconnected from the outer world. Later, they got all the support from the Sikkim Tourism department and were rescued from Lachung to Gangtok. Central forces along with the Sikkim Tourism Department staff rescued them on the road to Gangtok Tuesday morning. The journey was risky and adventurous, they said adding that the helicopter could not reach due to bad weather. Describing their thrilling experience during rescue and return, they narrated how they had to walk for kilometres owing to the bad road conditions and landslides. They hopped vehicles, and crossed a river using a damaged wooden bridge along with the personnel and officials. They took a halt in an army base to get some rest, where the state government had arranged food for them. After reaching Siliguri, they started the return journey in their vehicle.