The snowfall seen in the upper reaches of Sikkim and parts of Darjeeling hills, including Sandakphu, on Wednesday, continued till Thursday early morning.

The snowfall, which came as a pleasant surprise for tourists, however, left hundreds of them stranded in Gangtok district of Sikkim on Wednesday. The Indian army personnel, posted at the Indo-Sino border, jumped into action and rescued over 1,200 tourists standing helplessly amid snow and shivering.

According to army sources, as it snowed since Wednesday afternoon, the army launched the rescue operation to bring tourists, including senior citizens, women and children, stuck in high-altitude areas like the Tsomgo (Chhangu) Lake, Nathu-la and Baba Mandir, to safety.

These are some of the popular destinations in the Himalayan state. As these areas experience snowfall, the footfall of tourists increases during the winter months.

“The rescue operations, which started on Wednesday afternoon, continued till midnight. Altogether, 1,217 tourists were evacuated to the army camp at 17th Mile (a location between Tsomgo Lake and Gangtok), provided medical care, warm clothing, food and bed. Officials of the state administration reached there today and arranged their transport to Gangtok. In due course, all of them were shifted to the state capital,” said a source.

Sources at the regional Met office in Calcutta said in the past 24 hours, snowfall and hail occurred in some parts of Darjeeling and Sikkim.

“It also rained in some places of Sikkim. Tourists are advised to check weather reports and forecasts before they move into high-altitude areas. Also, many people trek to Sandakphu. They should also be aware of the climatic conditions so that they don’t get stranded due to inclement weather conditions and enjoy their trip,” said a weather expert.

During the next 24 hours, there is a forecast of rain and snowfall, said sources.

Like the east, it also snowed in a number of locations of Mangan, the district which is in the north of Sikkim. Popular tourist destinations like Lachen and Lachung experienced snowfall.

In Sandakphu, around 50 tourists and trekkers on Thursday enjoyed a snow-clad Sandakphu, a region which saw snowfall for the second time this winter so far.

The snowfall and rain also brought down the minimum temperature in the
hills. In Darjeeling, the mercury dipped to 4.2 degree Celsius while in Gangtok, the minimum temperature in the past 24 hours (till 8.30am on Thursday) was 5.2 degrees, followed by Kalimpong (7.8 degrees). Even in plains, places like Cooch Behar recorded a minimum of 10.8 degrees.

The snowfall brought cheers to stakeholders of the tourism industry.

“We hope the inflow of tourists increases from next week. Along with domestic tourists, we are expecting a considerable number of tourists from Bangladesh during the winter months,” said Samrat Sanyal, general secretary, Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network.