Severe Snowfall Disrupts Sikkim Routes
Fresh snowfall blanketed the higher reaches of the Indo-China border, including the iconic Nathula Pass area, on Friday, causing a significant drop in temperature across Sikkim. Several high-altitude regions recorded sub-zero temperatures, which immediately disrupted movement along key mountain routes.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heavy to very heavy snowfall has been recorded since early morning in and around major tourist and border locations like Nathula, Kupup, and Tsomgo (Changu) Lake. Due to the severity of the conditions, the IMD has issued a red alert for Sikkim, warning residents and authorities of continued severe weather over the next 24 hours. Officials noted that the temperature in the Nathula region is expected to drop further overnight, marking one of the season’s earliest and heaviest snowfalls.
Local authorities have strongly advised tourists and transport operators to avoid travel to higher elevations as the accumulation of snow has made roads treacherous and slippery. Teams from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working continuously to clear the routes and ensure essential connectivity is maintained. The state government has placed disaster response teams on standby, urging residents to take necessary precautions.
Biodiversity Funding Released for Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh
In unrelated, positive news for Sikkim, the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released ₹8.3 lakh to two Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim. This funding falls under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework, as outlined in the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
The funds were channeled directly through State Biodiversity Boards to two specific BMCs:
- Narrau village BMC in Akrabad Kaul Taluk, Aligarh District, Uttar Pradesh.
- Lampokhari Lake Area BMC in Aritar, Sikkim.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change explained the reason for the funds: a company accessed crop materials in Narrau village to produce fermentable compounds, while another company accessed microorganisms from water and soil samples collected in the Lampokhari Lake area for research purposes.
By transferring these benefits directly, the NBA is empowering local custodians to take a leading role in biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource management. This follows an earlier release of ₹1.36 crore by the NBA to support grassroots biodiversity conservation in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.