Gangtok, July 23 -- The Government of Sikkim has constituted a four-member High Level Committee (HLC) to inquire into the causes and circumstances of the devastating explosion inside the under-construction ADIT-III tunnel of the NHPC Teesta Stage-VI Hydro Electric Project at Samardung, Jholungey, in Namchi District - a tragedy that has shaken the entire nation. The development comes even as rescue teams successfully recovered the lifeless bodies of all 25 trapped workers after 72 hours of intense, round-the-clock search operations.

The notification, No. 73/Home/2026, issued by the Home Department, Gangtok on July 22, 2026, by order and in the name of the Governor and signed by Chief Secretary R. Telang, IAS, states that the inquiry has b...