Swiss Ambassador to India Maya Tissafi visited Toong Naga in Mangan district on Thursday, April 9, 2026, to assess damage and relief efforts following the recent Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). The visit, part of her official trip to Sikkim, aimed to give the embassy a first‑hand view of the affected communities and the measures under way for recovery, rehabilitation and future risk reduction.
Tissafi was accompanied by her spouse Jurg Petermann, First Secretary Simon Sevan Schafer, Senior Regional Advisor on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Rapid Response (RR) Pierre‑Yves Pitteloud, and Divya Mohan, Team Leader SCA‑Himalayas, along with officials from the State Disaster Management Authority. The delegation travelled to Toong Naga, within the Mangan sub‑division, to observe damage on the ground and meet residents impacted by the flood.
On arrival they were received by Mangan BDO Kailash Thapa-who served as Incident Commander for Toong Naga during the GLOF-and SHO Prashant Rai. Local leaders, including Welfare Board chairman Nim Tshering Lepcha, the panchayat president, zilla panchayat and gram panchayat members and other PRI functionaries, also welcomed the delegation and joined discussions.
During the field briefing, BDO Kailash Thapa outlined the extent of damage to infrastructure and livelihoods and described immediate relief and rehabilitation actions taken by the district administration. He also detailed plans and steps being pursued to strengthen long‑term disaster preparedness and resilience in vulnerable areas, including measures tailored for Himalayan terrain.
Ambassador Tissafi praised the district administration and local communities for their response to the disaster and stressed the importance of continued collaboration and knowledge sharing on disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in Himalayan regions. The visit underscores growing international attention to climate‑driven hazards such as GLOFs and the need for coordinated local, national and international responses.
Original Source: https://www.sikkimexpress.com/news-details/swiss-ambassador-visits-glof-affected-areas-in-mangan-district
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