Fire Prayers for Sikkim Earthquake Victims

GANGTOK, 19 Oct: Jungdul Shiwai Jensek - Vajrapani Peaceful Fire Puja for earthquake victims and the well being of the universe and the State of Sikkim in particular was performed at Sa-Ngor Chotshog Centre, Rongyek [SNCC] this morning. The one-day “fire puja” was performed by Sakya Trizin, the supreme head of the Sakya lineage, along with 163 [113 from outside Sikkim] Rinpoches. The Rinpoches were from Nepal, Himachal Pradesh, Dehradun, Darjeeling, Rimbi, Kurseong and Kalimpong. Speaker KT Gyaltsen, who is also the area MLA, was also present for the prayers. Incidentally, the Ngor Gonpa is also celebrating its golden jubilee, the special event for which the Sakya Trizin has travelled to Sikkim

Gangtok Schools reopens Today after Earthquake and Puja Holidays

Gangtok, Oct. 10: Parts of North Sikkim still continue to be inaccessible though the administration and schools, crippled since the September 18 earthquake, are expected to function normally from tomorrow. Temporary arrangements have been made so that 779 government schools with their 1.18 lakh students can start functioning. “Classes will start from tomorrow. Whatever temporary arrangements were to be done, has been done,” said HRD secretary C.S. Rao over the phone from Ravangla in South Sikkim. Construction of temporary structures on campuses, hiring buildings near schools for classes and introducing shifts in schools with low enrolments are some of the options that have been worked out. Sikkim government spokesperson K.S. Topgay said aerial sorties to evacuate people stranded in North Sikkim and air-dropping of relief continued during the Puja break by the army choppers and the civilian Pawan Hans helicopters. Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung still remain cut off from Mangan because of landslides along the North Sikkim highway. Mangan is the administrative headquarters of the North district, 30km from Chungthang. Apart from multiple landslides, a 400 metre stretch of the highway had been washed away between Toong and Theeng near Chungthang. “We have managed to cut inside the rocky hillside to create a new road up to 350 metres. Now only 50 metres is left to be created,” said AK Das, the joint director of the Border Roads Organisation’s Project Swastik. “The spot is on a steep incline. Even the rock of the hillside is hard to break,” said Das. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who visited Sikkim on September 29 had directed the BRO to restore the North Sikkim highway to Chungthang by October 15. The highway is important as it is the sole link to the army and ITBP bases on the China border. “All our resources and manpower have been concentrated at this point and the BRO is committed to open the road as soon as possible,” said Das. Nearly Rs 16,000 crore has been released by the state government as ex-gratia for the 21,659 pucca and kutcha houses damaged in East Sikkim. This amount is in addition to the Rs 1.2 crore distributed earlier. The ex-gratia ranges from Rs 3,000 to Rs 50,000, depending on the intensity of the damage and the type of house. “We appeal to those, whose damaged houses have not be been recorded so far, to come to us by October 15. Our officials will survey these houses and we will release ex-gratia for the genuine claims. We don't want to leave out any genuine cases,” said district collector D. Anandan. Around 100 claims from owners of damaged houses were received at the district control room during the Puja break. The claims should be reported to the administrative centre in Sichey, Gangtok, where the district authorities will resume work from tomorrow. Anandan has been camping at the district control room at MG Marg since the earthquake. “We will be shifting to the district administrative centre from Monday and resume our normal functions along with relief work related with the earthquake,” said the district collector. According to officials of North Sikkim, 3,361 houses have suffered major and minor damage in the Mangan subdivision including Dzongu. Assessment of the damage is in progress at Lachung, Lachen and Chungthang.

1,600 temporary classrooms in Earthquake hit Sikkim

Gangtok, Oct. 5: The Sikkim government is determined to utilise the eight-day Dasain or Puja break to repair and restore damaged school buildings so that the 779 government institutions with 1.18 lakh students are able to function on Monday. Classes in most institutions have been suspended since September 19, a day after the earthquake as 682 government schools suffered damage of various degrees. Fifty-nine of the school buildings had collapsed. Alternative arrangements like holding classes in the open did not work out because of bad weather. The options now available before the government are: construction of temporary classrooms, hiring buildings near damaged schools and introducing shift system in institutions with low enrolment, located mostly in remote areas. “We have constituted teams of officials and engineers in each district for construction of the temporary classrooms. We have requested the respective MLAs to provide us with help in the form of labourers, most of whom will be unavailable during Dasain,” said state human resource development secretary C.S. Rao. The 20ftX16ft temporary classrooms will accommodate some 30 students each. Locally available material will be used for construction and the arrangement will continue for the next four to five months till permanent structures come up, said Rao. The number of temporary classrooms will depend on the enrolments in each school. “The number of temporary classrooms may cross 1,600 and the MLAs along with our officials are on a tour to assess the exact requirement,” said Rao. Most of these temporary structures are expected to come up on vacant school grounds. The HRD department has the option of hiring space in local buildings if there is no scope to set up a temporary structure near a school. If both these options do not work out, classes may be held in shifts, said Rao. This means the less damaged rooms of a school may be used in turns for holding classes. On September 26, the government officially announced that classes in government and some 325 private education institutions would resume only on October 10 when the Dasain break ends in most schools. The school heads had been directed to work with the authorities for putting up alternative arrangement by then. Chief minister Pawan Chamling had already instructed the HRD department to repair and restore all government schools during Dasain so that students can be back in class on October 10. “There has been a loss of more than a week of class but we will compensate it at the end of the academic calendar. According to an earlier schedule, the schools would have shut on December 17 for winter. Now it will close only on December 22. Right now our target is to start classes from October 10. All arrangements will be ready by October 9 evening,” said Rao. Earlier, schools were supposed to close for Dasain on October 10.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda expresses condolences to Sikkim Earthquake victims

Tokyo, Oct 4 (PTI) Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda here and discussed with him the whole gamut of bilateral relations.

Kumar, who is leading a parliamentary delegation to Japan, called on the Prime Minister and also met speaker of the House of Representatives in the Japanese Diet, Takahiro Yokomichi.

During their meeting, Prime Minister Noda said in a lighter vein that Japan was a tourist friendly country and more and more Indians were welcome to visit it.

During her interaction with her Japanese counterpart, Kumar referred to her emotional trip to Hiroshima, while also paying homage to the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, reiterating India''s commitment to offer all possible help during the crisis, said an official statement.

Yokomichi, on his part, expressed his condolences for the victims of the recent earthquake in Sikkim while also thanking the Indian government for its support in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Kumar also said that India was looking forward to receiving the Japanese Prime Minister in December.

The delegation also met the Emperor and the Empress of Japan at the Imperial Palace.
PTI

44 Sorties in a day by Sikkim Pawan Hans Relief and Rescue Operation

Gangtok, Oct. 4: The Pawan Hans helicopter had drawn a lot of flak earlier this year after the death of Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu in an air crash, leading to the suspension of services for some time in the Northeast. Five months since, there has been a turnaround and Pawan Hans has proved its mettle: evacuating stranded civilians in quake-hit Sikkim. Since September 20, two days after the quake, Pawan Hans helicopters had been making regular sorties to Mangan, Chungthang, Lachen, Lachung and Sakyong — all in worst-hit North Sikkim. The helicopter service comes under the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation (STDC), owned by the state government. Pawan Hans were the only civilian helicopters tasked with aerial relief operations alongside the dozen army choppers. In normal times, Pawan Hans operates from the helipad at Burtuk in Gangtok. Its service is between the Sikkim capital and Bagdogra airport in Siliguri, besides being used for sightseeing. Only one five-seater chopper is available daily. But barring a day or two since September 20 when inclement weather did not permit flying, two Pawan Hans choppers conducted 512 sorties till yesterday. “They evacuated more than 950 civilians from the quake-affected areas to Mangan and Gangtok, said K.S. Manilal, the deputy general manager who is in charge of Pawan Hans Helicopters’ Northeast region. Around 98 tonnes of relief material were dropped in the affected areas till yesterday. Initially, one stationed Pawan Hans chopper had been pressed for relief and rescue operations. On September 22 onwards, one more was brought from Guwahati for the operation in Sikkim, said Manilal. A third Pawan Hans chopper was also brought on October 1 to provide a back-up in case any of the two existing choppers had to be grounded for maintenance. “These three choppers till yesterday have been in air for around 120 hours,” said Manilal. Relief and equipment provided by the state government or collected by the voluntary organisations are being ferried in Pawan Hans choppers from Burtuk helipad to North district. Government officials and engineers too are using Pawan Hans for air drops in quake-hit areas. “We are working within the limits of the rules and regulations while trying our best to extend relief and rescue services to the people of Sikkim. The Pawan Hans helicopters have been doing such service for many years in different parts of the country especially in the Northeast. We are a professional body and have vast experience in this field,” said Satnam Singh, deputy manager (maintenance) of Pawan Hans, who had arrived from New Delhi. For the six pilots, the task was challenging, given the increased intensity of sorties in unpredictable weather in the high altitude areas of Lachen (9,400ft) and Lachung (8,610ft) and army relief choppers claiming the same airspace. “There is no fixed weather, it changed every 10 minutes. There used to be nearly 16 choppers flying at a time in those areas and we had to coordinate very carefully while landing,” said Captain Srinivas Rao, one of the pilots. The payload for the civilian chopper varied depending on the altitude of the location it was supposed to land in. For Chungthang and Mangan, it was around 400kg while for Lachen and Lachung — located higher up — it was 300-350kg, said the pilot. Captain Rao’s was the first of the 14 sorties that reached Mangan and Chungthang on September 20 with relief and returned with injured persons. “I could see anxious people on the ground at Chungthang. They made a rush to board the chopper, scared that it would not return if the weather turned bad. The danger in this situation is that someone could get hit by the tail blade of the chopper or obstruct our landing,” he said. Captain P.J. Singh, who had just returned to Burtuk today from North Sikkim, said: “While flying in high-altitude areas we had to be very alert. The density of air decreases as we climb higher and there is more requirement for power. The effectiveness of rotor blades is also affected and the aircraft blade’s reactions are slow. Initially there used to be a rush among the people to board the helicopter but now the situation is becoming more normal,” he said. The other pilots who were engaged in the relief operations were Brigadier (retd) P.S. Sahi, Col (retd) Arun Opal, Wing Commander (retd) George Kuruvilla and Captain Ranbir Ray. Dukla Palden Lachenpa and his six-year-old daughter today got a lift in a Pawan Hans to their village in Lachen. “I had come walking to Mangan from Lachen and then took a ride to Gangtok a few days after the earthquake to see my child who studies here. My wife is there in Lachen and she was worried. I am taking my child back there,” he said. Another Lachen resident, Niki Lachengpa also boarded the Pawan Hans with her 10-year-old son who studies in Gangtok. She had been waiting for her turn to go home to her village in Lachen since early morning. Tejpal Pradhan, the operations manager of the Burtuk helipad, said a 10-member team of STDC gets down to work every morning at 7 for the relief operations. “We work till late in the afternoon after which we submit our report to the government and delegate duties for the next day,” he said.

Red Army border posts damaged in Sikkim Earthquake



Chinese Soldiers help remove debris after the earthquake



Two residents in Yadong county in the Tibet autonomous region on Sept 19

 Gangtok: The earthquake that rattled Sikkim more than a week ago also left a trail of devastation across the border in Tibet, inflicting widespread damage on life and property. According to an assessment here, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has also suffered losses with its garrison at Yadong in Tibet, barely 40 kilometres away from Sikkim, taking the maximum hit. Reports hint that troops from the Yadong garrison were involved in a massive rescue and relief operation in the region. Independent reports suggest that at least 2,000 soldiers were taking part in the relief operation though the exact number of casualties in the area could not be ascertained. The operation was anchored by the Tibet military district with air support from the army aviation wing of the Chengdu military region. Yadong has been one of the areas worst affected by the earthquake, with communication lines in the area having snapped completely. In Sikkim, the Indian Army is spearheading the rescue operation, clearing the debris and delivering relief material to people living in remote areas. The Indian Army has a brigade-level presence in the region to guard the border with China in north Sikkim. Apart from the civilian population, even the army has suffered damages as contact to many areas in the region was cutoff because of landslides. Though the loss of life was contained, the link to forward location remains inaccessible and could take some time to rebuild. The link to Nathu La, at more than 14,000 feet, is yet to be restored. While Sikkim witnessed frantic activities with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also visiting the state, information is not forthcoming on developments in Tibet.

A long September Night in Gangtok

Gangtok on Monday woke up to a cold and wet morning.

Scared to death by the 6.9 magnitude quake, most Gangtok residents spent the night outside. In spite of the biting cold and incessant rains. Any open space around the capital became the most sought-after place for shelter. Moms tightly clutching onto their handbags with whatever valuables they could gather before fleeing their homes. Babies wrapped tightly in blankets, elders assisted by family members, young children pacified with chips and cola drinks and men generally shepherding their families throng MG Marg, the heart of the state capital, through the night. Rumours of another major quake hitting the area anytime getting louder than people’s heartbeats.

Gangtok was slowly closing down for the day after an uneventful Sunday when the massive earthquake hit the town at 6:11 pm – shaking multi-storied RCC buildings like they were made of cardboard, accompanied by the loud chasing noise of crockery falling off the shelves, trees uprooting, TVs sliding off the table, and cracks forming on the walls.

Soon, this was dwarfed by loud screams and children crying as people made a mad scamp out of their homes in search of open space. After nearly 30 seconds of utter chaos and scare, total darkness set in, followed by deafening silence.

When the realization set in that it could be the “big one” Sikkim had been anticipating for a long time, desperate attempts were made to find family members and get them in one group. The next logical step was to call family and friends across the town and in other parts of the state and the neighbouring Darjeeling hills. A few fortunate ones could get through and make contact before the phone lines went dead. Those in the market area started to rush back to their neighbourhoods and homes, even as those at home waited anxiously for their loved comes to return safely.

After nearly 20 minutes, an aftershock struck, sending the already frightened residents into high panic mode. Those who had sustained injuries while fleeing their concrete homes thought it better to stay out in the open rather than spend the night at the STNM hospital, which had already developed cracks. Several tourists tried desperately to contact police and hotel management for any information on the situation and the earliest exit home. Shelters were provided by state government authorities to affected people rendered homeless while the Army opened kitchens and served food to around 2,000 people in and around the capital. Even as power supply was restored in many areas by around 11 pm, people continued to throng the streets fearing more aftershocks.

Monday morning revealed a trail of destruction that the mammoth quake had left behind, not even sparing the Chief Minister’s office at the State Secretariat. The CM’s office had to be temporarily shifted to the Samman Bhawan as Secretariat building was evacuated. Disruption in water supply soon followed, with most taps running dry Monday. MG Marg resembled a Ramlila Maidan in the morning with empty food packets and water bottles strewn all over. By afternoon, people had started to throng MG Marg once again, some even planning to spend another night in the open. A friend’s house, any open space, a relative’s house with an open courtyard, anything that would take them away from the now notoriously infamous Gangtok high rises, were being quickly filled up with blurry-eyed residents. “I am too scared to get back into my concrete death chamber” seemed to resonate through the chilly air. Rumours floated like nobody’s business, with predications of more quakes shaking the living daylights out of them. The fact that we lived on Seismic Zone V and could probably die of severe asphyxia after being crushed to death by falling concrete became the only reality.

The earthquake has shaken up Gangtok residents badly, either ways.

Sarikah Atreya is a Gangtok-based journalist

Sikkim Earthquake impact studies at the dam sites of NHPC



Earthquake not caused by Hydro Power Projects: Sikkim CM



India’s power ministry has asked seismic experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT-R) to conduct earthquake impact studies at the dam sites of state-owned NHPC Ltd and North Eastern Electric Power Corp. Ltd (Neepco).



The Sikkim earthquake has raised questions on the future of India’s hydropower development. The 18 September 6.8 magnitude earthquake on the Sikkim-Nepal border has wreaked havoc in the Himalayan country and the Indian state, and scientists say the likelihood of a much greater earthquake in north India remains. At least 118 people have been killed in Sikkim, West Bengal and Bihar in the quake.

Teesta Urja Ltd, which is building the 1,200MW Teesta-III project in Sikkim, suffered losses of personnel, with 17 people killed, one missing and 10 hurt.

The decision to take IIT-R’s help was taken at a review meeting last Thursday that was chaired by minister of state (power ministry) K.C. Venugopal.

“It was decided to avail the services of seismic experts from IIT-R to analyse earthquake data and conduct the earthquake impact study at the dam sites of NHPC in the region, and more specifically those in Sikkim,” the ministry said in a statement. “Neepco was also asked to compile the seismic data collected from its power stations in north-eastern states for further analysis at IIT-R.”

The total hydropower generation potential of India’s north-eastern states and Bhutan is about 58,000MW. Of this, Arunachal Pradesh alone accounts for 50,328MW. Sikkim, as well as most of north India, falls in seismic zones 4 and 5, regions classified as highly vulnerable to high-intensity quakes.

Any delays in construction of hydropower projects in the region, particularly those on rivers originating in China, would affect India’s strategy of establishing its prior-use claim, according to international law.

India is concerned that hydropower projects planned in Arunachal Pradesh may be affected by China’s plan to divert water from rivers that flow into the Brahmaputra to the arid zones of Xinjiang and Gansu.

“India’s hydro potential is locked in the North-East,” said former power secretary Anil Razdan. “You can’t plan for this kind of thing. It is a grey area. Earthquake prediction is very difficult.”

Hydropower projects come with their own set of problems. Their construction requires specialized technology and design. They also have to deal with geological surprises such as earthquakes, floods and landslides. With the share of hydropower generated in the country falling from 40% to 25% in the past 20 years, the government is worried as this makes up only 38,206MW of the 181,558MW power generating capacity.

“We and Neepco are the major hydropower developers active in the North-East. We’ll study data from our monitoring centres to know the impact of the quake for future references,” said D.P. Bhargava, director, technical, NHPC. “We’ll first study it internally and then send it to IIT-R.”

NHPC has a power generation capacity of 5,295MW that includes two operating projects in Sikkim. It is constructing a 2,000MW project in Arunachal Pradesh and also has plans to set up projects having a total capacity of 6,696MW in north-eastern states such as Sikkim, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

Bhargava defended the design of his projects. “There has been no damage to our projects,” he said. “We design our projects for earthquakes and such an incident should not stop us for planning for projects in the region.”

Several hydro projects have been delayed and India has met less than half the target of 14,393MW set for hydropower generation in the 10th Five-year Plan period (2002-07).

The country plans to add another 16,501.17MW of hydropower capacity by 2012. While the country has a hydropower potential of 300,000MW, around 145,000MW of this can be exploited.

Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) flays Opposition parties for politics over Earthquake

Gangtok: Hardly a week has passed since the devastating earthquake of September 18, resulting in an unprecedented crisis for Sikkim and its people, that the opposition parties aspiring to come to power have started their habitual game of misleading the people with misinformation to add to the agony of the crisis-stricken people. Such a “mean and inhuman” act of the opportunist politicians is strongly condemned by the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), says a press release on September 25 by SDF general secretary (publicity) Mr. T. N. Sharma.

The release cites specific instances of the “misinformation campaign” resorted to by the opposition parties as to the cause of the earthquake.

Firstly, the opposition leaders are saying that the hydel power projects caused the 9/18 earthquake, whereas, geo-scientists have unanimously attributed the earthquake to tectonic plate movement far below the crust of the earth which released huge energy that found its way up through faults and fractures already demarcated as earthquake zone 4 in north-west Sikkim.

Secondly, to compound the panic among the people, fillers are being given about “another earthquake soon”. But, according to experienced geologists a recurrence of the earthquake in the near future is unlikely because, they point out, huge quantum of sub-surface energy is already released in 9/18 shock wave and aftershocks that followed.

The release also mentions that road connectivity with Lachen-Lachung being snapped due to massive landslides, problems are being faced by Army and other agencies engaged in rescue and relief operations, but in disregard to this fact, malicious propaganda is floated to foment disaffection among the people in distress

Sikkim Chief minister Pawan Chamling dismiss link between 6.8 earthquake and Hydro Projects

Gangtok, Sept. 26: Sikkim Chief minister Pawan Chamling today dismissed a whisper campaign doing rounds in Sikkim, blaming the mega power projects in the state for Sunday’s 6.8 earthquake. To refute the allegations and allay fears, the chief minister also cited the example of Canada and Switzerland, countries that he claimed were dotted with hydel projects but were safe.

Experts from IIT Kharagpur, too, said hydel projects could not be blamed for earthquakes.

“It has been 10 years since our government initiated power projects in Sikkim. Earlier, too, such earthquakes happened in Sikkim but at that time there was not even electricity, forget power projects. There are whispers floating in Gangtok blaming hydel power projects for the earthquake, which was a natural calamity. This is one proof that such propaganda is false,” Chamling said while distributing ex gratia to the 400 earthquake victims of East Sikkim at Chintan Bhavan here.

Sikkim will have 31 hydel projects by 2015 and they are expected to generate Rs 1,500 crore annually.

“Second, Canada and Switzerland have the highest number of mega hydel power projects and tunnels, and revenue from hydro power make these countries rich and self-sufficient. If the power projects are reason for earthquakes then these two countries would have been devastated much earlier,” Chamling said.

As a third argument, the chief minister said the tunnels related to the projects were all 100 feet below the ground but Sunday’s quake originated 2,000km below the surface of the earth. “Hence, there is no connection between the tunnels and the quake,” he said. He also took recourse to history to allay fears triggered by rumours of another immediate quake hitting Sikkim. “Everyone knows that Sikkim experienced an earthquake after a long gap. We had earthquakes in history and according to the scientific data and our experience, another major quake in Sikkim is possible only after 15-20 years,” said Chamling.

A faculty member of the geology and geophysics department of IIT Kharagpur said Chamling was correct when he said hydel projects had not triggered the earthquake. “Hydel projects do not cause earthquakes and the chief minister is correct on that count. However, the earthquake of September 18 took place at a depth of 19.7km below the surface. He must have meant 20km. Earthquakes do not take place below depths of 700km,” he said.

Despite the scientific facts, the chief minister said, “irresponsible people” were circulating text messages about another immediate impending quake triggered by hydel power projects.

“Our people must be conscious and on guard against such rumours. I have not initiated power projects to trigger earthquakes but to provide a perennial source of revenue for Sikkim and its development and to remove poverty,” said Chamling.

The chief minister said most of the labourers and engineers working at the power project sites had fled. “This will lead to a delay of one year in the completion of projects and Sikkim will lose Rs 500 crore. No one has given a thought to this and anti-people elements are busy spreading rumours,” he said.

The chief minister has already distributed ex gratia in South, West and North districts. While the death compensation is Rs 5 lakh (the official toll is 77), Rs 50,000 was given for serious injuries and Rs 25,000 for minor ones.

“We are not discriminating between victims on the basis of whether he or she is a Sikkimese or not… We may be a small state with six lakh people but we have a large heart. Non-locals had died more than local people. They had died while working for Sikkim’s development,” said Chamling.

Later in the day, government spokesperson KS Topgay said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was supposed to visit Sikkim tomorrow, has cancelled his trip

Chaotic highrise skyline of Gangtok rings Warning bells

In dapper Dev Anand's 1967 suspense thriller Jewel Thief, the second half of which was shot in the sylvan Sikkim eight years before its integration with India, hardly any highrises blotted the cinemascope experience. Those were the days when spiralling concrete structures were unheard of at hill stations, which were characterised by only wooden/ asbestos roofs and cemented walls.

But the past decade has drastically changed the plot, and concrete buildings shooting up the sky now form the rather chaotic skyline of the erstwhile scenic Gangtok and Darjeeling hills, where structures climbing up seven or eight storeys have become quite the norm. Making the situation more worrisome is the fact that most of this 'development' is illegal.

The residents of Gangtok woke up to the perils of this grave activity after last Sunday's powerful earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, which has so far claimed at least 75 lives and rendered thousands homeless.

According to experts, Sikkim falls under the highly vulnerable Seismic Zone-IV of India's earthquake hazard map and the risk factor for the residents of this "high-damage risk zone" gets doubled with the coming up of illegal highrises constructed with sub-standard material.

Collapse of Dzongu House with another building in Gangtok

The mushrooming of illegal buildings in the Sikkim capital points a finger at the ineptitude of the state government, which has conveniently been ignoring the need for a watchdog to monitor this building boom which doesn't follow even basic guidelines for countering the quake threat.

"We are dealing with the issue of earthquake disaster. We will address the issue of highrises and necessary building norms in Gangtok later," Sikkim chief secretary Karma Gyatso said.

While the occurrence of earthquakes cannot be wished away, the loss of life and the extent of collateral damage can always be mitigated with scientific moves in terms of developing civic infrastructure, the experts maintain. "The entire seismic-active region in Sikkim needs to undergo a thorough survey for it to survive a similar disaster in the future," a Sikkim government official said.

Seismic activity along the Himalayan arc takes place following the thrusting action of the Indian plate beneath the Eurasian plate. As the Indian plate converges with Eurasia at a rate of about 46 mm/ year towards the north- northeast, this has led to the uplift of the mountainous Himalayan range.

More than 80 per cent of all the buildings in Sikkim have developed severe cracks following the quake.

Two highrises have already collapsed in Gangtok amid the heavy rain on Friday, injuring at least four persons.

Reasons to be worried

•Illegal highrises violating earthquake resistance mechanism
•All buildings have come up in close proximity, with hardly any space in between
•Unplanned urban growth
•No monitoring mechanism by authorities

Gurudwara provides community kitchen [Langar] to 3000 Sikkim Earthquake Victims

Chungthang is a town in North Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is situated at the confluence of two rivers: River Lachen and Lachung Chu, both tributaries of the River Teesta. Chungthang is located a distance of 95 kilometres from the capital Gangtok. The Indian army has a major forward base in the town including a medical centre.
There are about 300 people, mostly labourers, at the relief camp opened at the “Gurudwara Nanak Lama Sahib”, Chungthang, campus where a community kitchen [Langar] prepares food for around 3,000 people everyday, inform Kuldeep Singh and Sada Singh from the Kar Seva Bangla Saheb, New Delhi. They had come here in March. The Gurudwara committee members inform that people are coming in there from Lachen, Lachung, Dombang and Thangu.

History

According to a legend, Guru Padmasambhabwa {Buddhist Guru} visited the town before going to Tibet and left his footprint on a rock where he once rested. Around the rock some paddy is grown, which is supposed to be a miracle as paddy does not grow in these conditions. Local people earned their livelihood on these paddy fields until the Army was deployed there.

It is believed Guru Nanak Dev ji visited this place during his trip (Udasi) to China and Tibet. Guru Nanak Dev ji dug his walking stick at a place where eventually the stick has grown into a tree which has trunk in stick shape and leaves are below the rounded trunk which looks like handle of stick. An amrit kund was also made to appear there by Guru ji. Guru Nanak visited the place during his third udasi in order to solace the Karma pa Nying ma pa sect then being hounded out from Tibet by the Ge lug pa sect. It is also said that Guru Nanak, on one of his journeys along with his disciples, had come across this place and vanquished two demons here before proceeding. The footprints of that battle were believed to be still left on that cordoned off rock. It is also said that Chungthang derived from the Punjabi, “Changa sthan” or good place, which Guru Nanak had bestowed on it

Pune’s superwomen saving lives in Sikkim

As the world’s eyes were affixed on TV channels witnessing the horror that unfolded in Sikkim due to the earthquake last Sunday, the heroes of the Indian Air Force (IAF) wasted no time and geared themselves up for the relief work.

One such champion is 26-year-old helicopter pilot Arunima Vidhate — posted at IAF’s Bagdogra airport — who was one of the first ones to conduct survey of the quake-hit area.

“The first thing I saw during the aerial recee was numerous landslides and how areas were cut off because of that. Thereafter our team started relief work, air-dropping food packets, medicines and other relief material for the affected people,” said Vidhate, who has 300 hours of flying helicopters.

She is one of the two women pilots who are part of the 18-member pilot team which is flying small helicopters like ‘Cheetah’ and ‘Chetak’ to provide relief material to the quake-hit areas in Sikkim.

The other woman pilot is PP Ranade, 25. She was initially involved in the ground work but now for the past couple of days she is also flying and taking the relief material to valleys of north Sikkim — which suffered the most destruction.

Recounting her experience, Ranade said: “One thing which strikes me most was the joy among people when they hear the sound of our helicopter approaching them. Their feeling that they have not been left alone and that there is someone for them touched me.” Echoing her views, Vidhate said: “What can satisfy more than watching someone alright whom you had admitted to hospital.”

The ‘superwomen duo’ hails from Maharashtra’s Pune area but as they were asked about their place, they shot back saying they are from India.

Vidhate comes from a defence background and the history of her family in military services goes back to four generations. Ranade, however, is the first one from her family in IAF and joined the force as she ‘loves flying’. Asked if they want to fly other helicopters, they smiled and revealed that their eyes are firmly set on bigger helicopters like Mi-17s.

Earthquakes unlikely in Sikkim for next few years: IIT expert

Sikkim is unlikely to face any large earthquake over the next couple of years as vast energy has been released through last Sunday's tremors and aftershocks, says SK Nath, senior professor of geology and geophysics, IIT-Kharagpur.

Although the recent quake left scores dead and devastated vast areas in north Sikkim, the leading geologist says the damage would have been worse had its full fury been felt in the state's more populous south, where no building code is followed.

"Though many people have died in Sikkim, I must say that Sikkim was lucky this time as the epicentre of the earthquake was the Sikkim-Nepal border," he said.

"That is why the northern part faced the wrath and south Sikkim did not face much problem," said Nath, who has been working extensively on the microzonation and seismicity of the Sikkim region since 1995.

"It was quite a large earthquake and it also released a few aftershocks," said Nath. "So I can say that for at least the next couple of years there will be no such earthquake in Sikkim."

He rubbished reports of Mangan in the north district being the epicentre of the earthquake.

"I do not know from where reports are coming that Mangan is the epicentre. It is in the middle of Sikkim. Had Mangan been the epicentre, the whole of Bhutan and North Bengal up to Siliguri would have been in ruins," Nath told IANS in an interview.

Nath, who has been teaching in IIT-Kharagpur since 1988, said the main reason for earthquakes in India is the Indian plate going under the Eurasian plate.

"The Indian plate is still going under the Eurasian plate. It is going under at a rate 46 millimetres per year," said Nath.

Nath, the principal investigator on the project of Department of Earth Sciences Microzonation of Sikkim Region, submitted a report in 2006 regarding what kind of quake-proof buildings should come up in the hill state.

According to Nath, Sikkim is divided into two seismic zones: North Sikkim falls under seismic zone 4 and South Sikkim, which includes areas of Gangtok and Singtham, falls under seismic zone 5.

Seismic Microzonation is a process by which an area is divided into zones -- in accordance with the character of the area such as ground shaking, susceptibility, rock fall hazard and earthquake-related flooding.

"If you go to south Sikkim, which falls in Zone 5, it has a lot of two lean buildings side by side, with very little gap between them. No building code is followed there," said Nath, who received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 2002.

"It is true that Sikkim's mainstay is tourism and Gangtok its main attraction. But there should be a proper procedure for construction of buildings," said Nath.

India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Sikkim on Sept 27

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit earthquake hit Sikkim on September 27. Sikkim’s information and public relations secretary Karma Tobgay said that Singh would be visiting the state on September 27 to take stock of the situation.

The state had been hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on September 18 causing extensive damage especially in North Sikkim. “The government of Sikkim will be handing him a detailed report on the damages caused by the killer quake” said Tobgay.

As rescue and relief operations continued in the incessant rain the official death toll hit the 77 mark. The injured are being treated in various government facilities and also referred to hospitals outside the state.

“There are 102 relief camps operational in the quake affected areas of the state. The Sikkim government employees have decided to contribute a day’s salary for relief. The state government has already handed over a sum of Rs 12 crore, 51 lakhs and 50 thousand to various departments for immediate relief and reconstruction” added the IPR secretary.

Heavy rains since Friday night have triggered anxiety of further damage. On Friday night a five-storied building collapsed in the Baluakhani area of Gangtok after a six storied building had tilted on it. Eight persons were injured in the incident.

VISUALS: Trapped inmates rescued from Collapsed Gangtok Buildings near Vajra Cinema Hall

Two buildings collapse in Gangtok

GANGTOK, 24 Sept: Following the massive earthquake of 18 September which has damaged thousands of buildings statewide, it was only a matter of time before news poured in of collapsing buildings. Late this evening, a five-storied building belonging to the Secretary, Sports & Youth Affairs Department, near the Vajra Cinema hall on the North Sikkim Highway collapsed trapping three people inside. Miraculously, all three survived after rescue personnel comprising of civilians, the army and NDRF pulled them out of the debris in time. Only the top two floors could be seen above the road while the other 3 stories had sunk.

Trapped in the collapsed building were a driver, a carpenter and his helper. They were trapped in the lower stories which had sunk. After about half an hour of rescue efforts, they were evacuated and rushed to the hospital in a waiting ambulance.
The building also housed the offices of the United Sikkim Football Club a team of which was due to leave for Kolkata tomorrow and an ATM of Axis Bank. The building behind upon which the building has collapsed, houses a school which is also now precariously positioned.
Fortunately no one was in the building at the time of the collapse, the structure having been evacuated earlier.
But that is not the only building which has collapsed or damaged. The five storied building is believed to have collapsed after the building standing adjacent to it, belonging to former minister, Sonam Choda Lepcha, sank, taking the other building along with it.
A couple of vehicles were also damaged when the ground on which they were parked, in front of the building, also sunk with the structure. One of the vehicles was totally crushed.
The building before Sonam Choda Lepcha’s building has also tilted slightly and is also on the verge of collapse.
Fortunately these buildings had been evacuated. In fact the building belonging to the late Minister had a guest house of a central government agency which had been evacuated on yesterday, on 22 September.
While no one was killed or seriously injured in this mishap, it has brought a renewed anxiety and nervousness among the people. In fact many are now sleeping outdoors inspite of the rain. It has also awakened the state administration to the possibility of having to examine and verify the safety of buildings in the state.
(NowDailY)

Relief team reaches traumatized remote Sikkim Villages

Relief team carrying relief materials crosses a landslide at Bey Village in Upper Dzongu on 22nd September 2011

Funeral of earthquake victims at Bey where seven people were killed when a landslide pulverised their homes. The funeral was organized by VHAS volunteers. A fresh landslide tore down the slope even as the cremation was underway

The volunteers distribute medicines to earthquake
survivors at Bey

The part of Bey village where a landslide washed away
seven people and their homes on Sunday night

Voluntary Health Association of Sikkim (VHAS) has been trying to gather information on the disaster and also directly visiting affected areas of different districts for immediate relief work.

VHAS has been coordinating with government agencies such as District Control Room, District Development Officers, Block Development Officer, Rural Development Assistant, Panchayats members and NGOs, informs a press release.
A team of VHAS comprising of Executive Director, Dr BB Rai, Mr Nehru, Mr Ashok, Mr. Ash Bahadur, Mr. Subhankar, Mr. Kamal and Mr. Prem Chettri reached the highly affected villages of Tumin Gram Panchayat Unit of East District on 19 Sept. As access to the villages was totally damaged, the team had to walk through jungles and hills for more than five hours to reach the affected villages.

The VHAS relief team reached Bey village yesterday at 10.30 am where almost all the houses are totally damaged. The team distributed readymade food items, poly tents, torch with batteries and First Aid boxes containing medicines for minor ailments. While the VHAS team was interacting with the Panchayat, a helicopter came and dropped raw food items basically rice, dal and cooking oil. After collecting the items that were dropped, they were stored in one damaged house. In order to protect it from rain, the VHAS team covered the roof of the house with poly tents.
Thanking the team, the Panchayat, narrated the story of the earthquake and landslides. He said, members of his family have been washed away by the landslides while his brother and sister in-law were buried along with their child but the disaster has compelled him to be strong to face the challenges ahead. A total of seven people have been washed away in the Bey village and one child is missing, he said. One part of the Bey village comprising of four houses was totally washed away without leaving any trace, he added.
The VHAS Relief team helped them in organizing the funeral of four dead bodies on the bank of a nearby river. While the funeral ceremony was going on, landslides suddenly struck and every one ran away from the place, halfway through the funeral. The team convinced the people to come down to Lingzya village, a safer and accessible place where relief camps are well organized. The people have agreed to come down to Lingzya village by tomorrow.
The VHAS team returned in the afternoon and reported the situation to the North District Control Room and reached Gangtok last night.

Superstitions, rumours add to Sikkim's quake woes

GANGTOK: Natural calamities have always had a share of superstition built around them, and there are many in today's Sikkim, including Buddhist monks, who believe that more quakes are in store and that the ones to come would be even more devastating.

Hundreds of people from township areas like Gangtok are seeking safer havens either down in the plains or in their villages, till such time as the 'evil eye' is on the state.

People are scared and rumours abound. On Thursday, there were rumours of flash floods having swept away 106 people, while on Friday, Sikkim woke up to intense rumours of lava welling up from the depths of Gurudongmar Lake, one of the world's highest fresh water lakes at 17,100 feet in north Sikkim. The scare has scarred public imagination.

Added the fact that meteorological experts confirm no less than 50 earthquakes having rocked the state since September 18 so far, the situation is still tense.

Despite the superb handling of the post-quake scene by the Army and civil authorities, there is a sense of doom among common people who aren't sure at all of what lies ahead.

According to Gopinath Raha, met-in-charge of Sikkim, the saga of quakes did not end last Sunday, when the first earthquake struck. The primary quake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and this was followed in minutes by two more of about 4-plus intensity. Raha confirmed that till date, more than 50 have taken place, of which about 8 were pretty big, while the rest 42 were mild bordering between 3 and 1 Richter.

Raha said that even last Sunday, the three quakes that were felt, were not the only ones to have taken place. Infact, Sikkim was rocked 18 times that evening and through the night. It was just that the three that got reported, were the only ones that jolted people everywhere.

This was followed by a virtual deluge of quakes. There were 20 last Monday, two on Tuesday, six on Wednesday and four on Thursday. The northern reaches are still under heavy rains. Infact Army sources confirmed that while they were able to rescue 45 people on Friday from Chungthang in choppers, flying further north wasn't possible.

With rescue teams facing difficulties to reach some farflung quakehit areas in Sikkim, hundreds of survivors are trekking out of their cut-off villages, crawling sometimes to negotiate dangerous stretches. Hundreds of villagers from inaccessible higher areas of Lachung, Lachen and Chungthan have gathered at Tung after an arduous trek down and are being taken to safe places.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, the Union power ministry has asked National Hydro Power Corporation to extend all possible assistance to Sikkim, so that normalcy can be restored all over, particularly the earthquake affected areas near NHPC's 510 mw Teesta Hydel power station and 60 mw Rangit Hydel power station.

Minister of State for Power KC Venugopal held this review meeting on Friday to discuss the Sikkim situation. He asked NHPC to act on a war footing and spare men and machinery to clear roads and carry on with other rehabilitation work.

A decision was also taken to avail of the services of seismic experts from IIT Roorkee, to analyse earthquake data and conduct earthquake impact studies at dam sites of NHPC in the region. Apart from this, an expert team of geologists, engineers and senior executives of NHPC from Delhi were also asked to visit the site and submit a report.

The Power Grid Corporation was instructed to expedite restoration of power. North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) was also asked to compile seismic data collected from its power stations in north eastern states for further analysis at IIT Roorkee.

Himalayan Earthquake Images

SIKKIM EARTHQUAKE VISUALS

2 Multi-Storey Buildings Collapses in Gangtok

Injured man rescued to STNM hospital from Balwakhani building collapse

Gangtok Sep 23: A seven-storied residential apartment in this Sikkim capital caved in Friday, killing three people and injuring 50.

The apartment had 75 occupants, a police official said. It was raining heavily in the Sikkim capital. Details are not known.

Another building also collapsed. However, it was vacant and there were no injuries.The house collapse comes days after the Sep 18 earthquake in Sikkim that killed around 80 people in the state.

TheseTwo buildings collapsed in Gangtok a few moments ago today around 6.30pm , following the tremor on Thursday night. Panic spread among the residents of the city.