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Educational institutes reopen in flood-hit Sikkim
A glacial lake outburst in north Sikkim triggered the flash flood down the River Teesta and washed away dams, buildings, bridges, and roads
Schools and colleges in Sikkim, which were closed after the October 4 flash floods, reopened on Monday. “They are reopening ...barring a few which have been either hit by the flash flood or are being still used as relief shelters,” said an official.
A glacial lake outburst in north Sikkim triggered the flash flood down the River Teesta and washed away dams, buildings, bridges, and roads. Over 90 people were killed and around 76 remained missing.
Some schools in the flood-hit districts of Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi have reopened for only students of classes five and above. Online classes were started earlier for students of some educational institutions such as the Advanced Technical Training Centre at Bardang.
The Government Senior Secondary School at Singtam, which is housing one of the largest relief shelters in the state with around 150 people, has reopened for students of classes 9 to 12.
“Earlier, when there were over 600 people taking shelter in the school, all our classrooms and the auditorium were filled up. Now with the number of people living in our school going down to around 150, they have all been shifted to the auditorium. The classrooms have been freed up and hence we have resumed classes,” said SK Pradhan, the school principal.
Some schools in Mangan, the worst-hit district, could not reopen on Monday and have been asked to start online classes wherever possible.
Officials said the annual exams that were supposed to start in November have been postponed and that schools have been asked to remain open on the second and fourth Saturdays in November to complete the syllabus.
