Govt starts air dropping food packets in Sikkim

The Army has already opened relief camps for 2,000 people and ITBP for 400 others. "In the entire operation, 5,500 army personnel were engaged apart from 700 ITBP personnel.

The BRO has done commendable job by reopening the highway linking Gangtok with Siliguri this afternoon," he said.

Singh said Sikkim Power Corporation has been able to restore power supply partially while land line telephone connections with Sikkim are functioning normally.

"Mobile phone connection with outside Sikkim working though mobile service within the state has been affected.

A total of 28 per cent of mobile connections are non-functional," he said. The Home Secretary said the government has done an aerial survey to ascertain the extent of damage but actual position will emerge only when rescue team reach each and every village.

Asked whether Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram would make an aerial survey of the affected areas, Singh said, "Our primary concern now is to rescue all affected people and provide them relief".