A total of 169 people, stranded in various parts of the country due to the lockdown, have returned to Sikkim, taking the total number of returnees to 1,122, reports PTI.
They were brought in state-run buses from Siliguri in neighbouring West Bengal on Tuesday, he said, adding that 106 people came through the Rangpo checkpost and 66 through the Melli entry point. These people were screened by the health department officials before being sent to quarantine centres, he said.
A total of 6,922 people, stuck outside the state, have registered themselves with the government’s portal to return to their homes. No COVID-19 case has been reported in Sikkim so far.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet and border trade between India and China through the Nathula pass will not take place this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, Sikkim Tourism Minister BS Panth said last month. The border trade through Nathula Pass was scheduled to begin in May while the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the route was slated to commence in June.
The Ministry of External Affairs organises the yatra from June-September each year through two different routes, Lipulekh Pass (Uttarakhand) and Nathu La Pass (Sikkim).