GANGTOK/DARJEELING (WB), Sept 19 � Braving cold and pouring rain, frightened residents spent the night outside their homes in the areas rocked by yesterday�s quake in Sikkim and West Bengal.
Roads were torn up, buildings cracked, phone towers and electricity posts toppled in the 6.8 magnitude quake which triggered such a panic that an official said injured people refused to get themselves admitted at Gangtok�s STNM Hospital out of fear after its walls developed several cracks.
Several tourists from West Bengal were stranded in Gangtok, Namchi and Kumgon in Sikkim with most of the connecting roads severely damaged, cracked open and blocked due to landslides.
Shelters were provided by authorities to the affected people rendered homeless while the Army opened kitchens and served food to around 2,000 people in and around Gangtok. � PTI
