Namchi (South Sikkim): Continuous rainfall for the past three days has triggered a number of landslips in South district and made many more buildings unsafe for living.
The worst affected is St Paul’s School, an English medium private institution, in Namthang, 15km from here. A portion of its wall collapsed on Friday night and cracks appeared on the building.
The school authorities have declared the building unsafe and classes have been suspended for an indefinite period. The 14 boarders and staff were evacuated yesterday. The school has 150 students and classes till the seventh standard.
One of the oldest institutions of the state, the school recently shifted to the new building, a kilometre ahead of Namthang bazaar, where it was earlier located.
Principal Daniel Khakha said a landslide had washed away a wall by the roadside below the building, causing the cracks. Further rainfall could prove dangerous to the building. Residents and the school authorities have blamed the roads and bridges department for the crisis.
They alleged that repeated intimations to the department about the area, which had been damaged by a previous landslide this monsoon, had been met with silence.
District collector D. Anandan, however, said today a team will be sent to the spot to inspect the area and arrange for relief measures.
The continuous downpour has also damaged four houses at Ghurpisey, Namchi. Mudslips have made the house of Topgey Bhutia and B.R. Tamang at Lower Ghurpisey unsafe for living. The houses of Sita Bardewa and C.B. Rai at Upper Ghurpisey have been damaged too. The families have been shifted to safer locations.
Highways in West and South continue to remain inaccessible at some places because of debris and boulders rolling down hillsides.
Major slips near Sirwani and two places at Tarku blocked the road to Rabongla, Namchi and Gyalshing yesterday. Workers from the roads and bridges department worked late into the night to clear the highway even as over 100 vehicles were stranded on both sides.
