Gangtok, October 9 (IPR): Chief Secretary Shri VB Pathak presided over a meeting with the officials from the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), Government of India who have reached the State to assess the ground situation and make recommendations for short- and long-term restorations. The meeting was held at the conference hall of Tashiling Secretariat and was attended by senior officers of the Government of Sikkim.
The IMCT team is headed by Shri Anant Kishore Saran, JS (FFR), Ministry of Home Affairs, and includes Shri Mahesh Kumar, Deputy Director, FCD, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Shri Deep Shekhar Singhal, US (GA) Ministry of Rural Development, New Delhi, Shri R.K. Meena, Director, Ministry of Power, CEA, Sewa Bhawan, New Delhi, Shri Jintu Das, Joint Director, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, D/o Jute Development Kolkata and Shri Adelbert Susngi, RO Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Guwahati.
Chief Secretary Shri VB Pathak briefed the IMCT officers about the scale of damages, and said that bridges, roads, power, water supply and drainage needed urgent restoration. He urged the team to take a sympathetic view while making their recommendations to the Government of India, duly seeking special relaxation of norms to restore vital infrastructure like temporary bailey bridges in critical places which have been completely cut-off.
The Chief Secretary thanked the team for their visit and sought their support to address the situation.
Earlier, a brief presentation on the incident and the resulting damage was made by Shri Prabhakar Rai, Director, SSDMA. He informed that the IMCT and Sikkim government officials would be travelling today to the flood-affected areas to evaluate the damage caused. The team is scheduled to visit IBM, ATTC- Bardang, Golitar, Singtam, and Dikchu today. The same team will also visit Mangan, Naga, and Chungthang on October 10
