Visitor permits for Lachen and Gurudongmar Lake in North Sikkim resume today.

An official stated on Sunday that starting on March 9, the Mangan district administration and tourism department will grant permits to visitors to well-known North Sikkim locations like Lachen and Gurudongmar Lake.

According to government regulations, tourists and travel firms can apply for licenses through the Mangan district collectorate or through licensed travel companies, he said.

According to Mangan District Collector Anant Jain, the district government and tourism department would begin issuing permits to visitors for travel to Lachen and other parts of North Sikkim from Monday.

Following a glacial lake flood outburst that devastated roads and bridges in 2023, the Mangan district ceased granting permits to tourists to visit Lachen, Gurudongmar Lake, and many other parts of North Sikkim.

A traffic advisory has also been issued by the district administration regarding the recently finished Bailey suspension bridge that spans the Taram Chu. The bridge, which is located on the Chungthang–Lachen Road, is anticipated to be crucial in re-establishing regional communication.

Last month, Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth opened the 400-foot-long Bailey suspension bridge, which can support a 12-ton load, to controlled vehicular traffic.

Certain traffic limitations have been implemented to guarantee safety and safeguard the bridge’s structural integrity.

Only light vehicles that are within the permitted load capacity will be permitted to cross the bridge, in accordance with the district collector’s standards.

In order to reduce structural stress and guarantee safe passage, only one vehicle will be allowed to cross the bridge at a time, the statement added.

In order to control traffic and guarantee that the limitations are strictly followed, Mangan, the superintendent of police, has been instructed to station a sufficient number of officers in and around the bridge.

Heavy or overloaded vehicles will not be allowed to cross the bridge, and the “one vehicle at a time” regulation will be strictly enforced by monitoring.