Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri at Bagdogra Airport on Monday on way to Delhi hoping for talks with the Centre. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

June 23: The blockade of NH31A by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and frequent “intrusions” in North Sikkim by the Chinese army have prompted the Centre to send a team of high-level officials to Gangtok tomorrow.

Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta and defence secretary Vijay Singh will lead the team, which will “assess the situation” in the hill state, said a source.

The team is expected to convene a meeting with Sikkim chief secretary N.D. Chingapa and senior state government officers and also call on chief minister Pawan Chamling. Later, a briefing will be held at the headquarters of the 17 Mountain Division in Gangtok, the source added.

The visit comes at a time when Sikkim has been cut off from the rest of the country by the Morcha’s indefinite bandh, which has choked the state’s lifeline, NH31A. The state has also been in news because of intrusions (69 since January this year) and constant patrolling by Chinese border guards in an area known as the Finger Point located beyond Lachen in North Sikkim.

On their way back from Sikkim, the central team will meet Bengal chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb and senior army officials of the Trishakti Corps to discuss how the supply lines to Gangtok can be kept open once the Morcha re-imposes its shutdown on Wednesday.

“The meeting will be held in the army cantonment at Sukna, which is the headquarters of the Corps,” Darjeeling district magistrate Rajesh Pandey said. The Trishakti Corps is in charge of all the army units posted in north Bengal and Sikkim.

“It is likely that the officials will examine the feasibility of army assistance in the transportation of essential items to Sikkim,” another source said.

The chief minister of Sikkim convened a meeting in Gangtok this morning to review the stock of essential commodities in the state and devise ways to bring in goods from the plains.

Officials said the state’s storage capacity of motor spirit and high-speed diesel is about 2,55,000 litres and 8,75,000 litres respectively, enough to last only two days. Sikkim can stock up 7,80,000 litres of kerosene, enough for three days, and 10,700 metric tonnes of wheat/rice in the FCI godown and almost the same amount in the state food godowns, which can last two months.

Chamling asked the officials to ensure continuous flow of essential commodities even after the resumption of the Morcha bandh.