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.

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

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announce Rs.1000 crore rebuild Sikkim

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrived in Sikkim today to review the relief operations in the quake ravaged hill state.

During his one day visit Prime Minister reviewed the situation with the senior government officials.

He visited the STNM hospital in the state capital to meet people injured in the earthquake.PM announced a relief package of Rs.1000 crore with special emphasis to rebuild schools and monasteries ,besides providing earthquake proof housing to people of Sikkim.

A State Government spokesman said in Gangtok that the PM also schedule to undertake for an aerial view of the quake affected areas in North Sikkim.

The earth quake which measured 6.8 on Richter scale, killed 78 people and caused extensive damage in the state.

Far flung areas of the State still remain inaccessible as the roads have been damaged due to quake.

Meanwhile, Army helicopters have resumed sorties to the inaccessible parts of Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung in quake ravaged areas to drop relief material.

The army choppers airdropped 9,408 kg of relief to the region.

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

Five-storey house goes down

Gangtok, Sept. 24: A five-storey house belonging to Bhaichung Bhutia’s mentor and state sports secretary Karma P. Bhutia collapsed tonight after an adjoining six-storey building tilted and fell against it, injuring eight persons.

The incident occurred two days after The Telegraph reported how building norms were being flouted in a mountainous terrain that is under seismic zone IV, the second most vulnerable area in the country according to the India Meteorological Department that had drawn up the classification. In Gangtok, the height of buildings is restricted to five storeys.

Around 6.15pm, the six-storied building of the late Sonam Choda Lepcha, a minister in the Nar Bahadur Bhandari government, suddenly tilted and hit Karma’s house in the Baluakhani area of town. Karma’s house, a concrete structure, then came down as a pack of cards.

All but the two top floors of the building can be seen resting but that also in a tilted position at the road level. The floors below have been totally destroyed, police said.

Karma’s house had an ATM kiosk on the first floor which also had the office of Bhaichung’s United Sikkim Football Club. A club official present at the spot said the office was completely buried under rubble and all the cups and trophies were inside. “We are yet to assess the damage,” he said.

Bhutia’s driver in STNM

“Karma and his daughter, Rinzing were watching television while two carpenters were working when suddenly he saw the adjoining building begin to sway and start tilting to its left. Both of them managed to come out just in time. But two carpenters were trapped as was Bhutia’s driver,” the club official said. He said the late minister’s house had tilted after Sunday’s quake. Local people said yesterday’s tremor at 10.20pm followed by rain this evening must have done the final damage.

According to M.S. Tuli, the police superintendent of East Sikkim, seven persons, four from Sonam’s house and the same number from Karma’s house have been rescued. All those rescued from Karma’s house — his driver Sonam Bhutia, tenant O.P. Chhetri, and two carpenters from Jalpaiguri, Sujit Sarkar and Prasanta Sarkar — were admitted to the STNM Hospital.

Sonam’s family members had vacated the building after Sunday’s quake.

K.B. Guring, an assistant medical officer at the STNM Hospital, said all three had suffered head injuries but they “were stable.”

“The area has been cordoned off and rescue operations were carried out by the army, the fire brigade, the police and personnel of the civil defence. The rescue operations are over,” Tuli said. He said two vehicles parked between the two buildings were badly damaged.

Pradip Chhetri, a tenant in Sonam’s house, said when the building started tilting, he thought it was another earthquake. “It was raining heavily and I suddenly felt the house tilt to its left side and crash against the one next door. I managed to use ropes to clamber down on to the street,” Pradip said.

(The Telegraph)

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)

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.

A boulder rolled off the slope at Gangtok

Gangtok Slip Zone Area Houses develops Cracks

A House In Arithang Area of Gangtok

GANGTOK, 04 July: The continuous rainfall of the past week has deteriorated the slip zone at Lower Arithang along the section where it connects with the Indira Byepass and is now posing a threat to the houses of around ten families living there. The area, according to the residents, has been slipping away since 2007, but this year, it has emerged as a more serious sinking zone. This, despite some precautionary works having been carried out in the past. All of those patch-up jobs are now crumbling away.

Chowrash Tamang, whose house was identified as ‘most affected’ and in need of ‘immediate restoration’, during the visit of the Minister-cum-area MLA, NK Pradhan, District Collector, D Anandan and SDM, Gangtok, Dr. AB Karki recently, said, “To solve this problem, a proper retention wall has to be constructed to protect this area from sinking further and the officials, who visited us have assured of the same. We hope that the problem will be solved now.”

SDM, Gangtok, Dr. Karki, confirmed that the job relating to planning and estimation have been assigned to UD& HD and accordingly Land Revenue and Disaster Management will allocate the budget.
Meanwhile, DC [East] added that his office in the meanwhile will be carrying out immediate restoration works of up to Rs. 50,000.
“We are preparing a list of the vulnerable locations which need immediate restoration works. This works will be sanctioned at a meeting of the District Level Relief Committee to be held in a day or two,” informs Mr. Anandan.
To deliver a one-time solution, the SDM said, “A retention wall at the road level will be constructed by the BRO. Remaining works like construction of step walls, jhora training and maintenance of sewage lines will be carried out by the Government.”
Besides Mr. Tamang, the houses of NB Chettri and DB Sewa have also developed internal and external cracks.
Earlier on Friday, a team led by DFO [T], East, Forest Department, Nombi Tshering Bhutia had cut down trees from the sliding area posing threat to vehicular traffic below and commuters along the Byepass Road.
Regarding this, the residents opined that some trees still remain, which are posing threat.

(NowDaily)

Anxiety Rises Among Gangtok Residents Due To Landslips

Crack in Support Wall

A linesman undertakes the challenging task of shifting an electricity post to a safer location and resuming power supply to the affected area above the Government College campus in Gangtok.

Houses Bandaided with Plastics

GANGTOK, 04 July: Although restoration works have begun on the failed slope in the college campus here, residents of the houses above remain an anxious lot, unsure that these measures so late in the day will keep their buildings safe. The clutch of around 150 houses in the area have been trying to convince authorities that the two massive hostels being constructed at the toe of the slope were unwise undertakings in the absence of adequate protective measures. The Department however began the construction work without constructing a retaining wall to secure the slope above and the college slammed a boundary wall above, which the residents contend, disrupted the drainage. Now, the slope has slid away, the wall has collapsed and the houses above imperiled.

The slip happened on the intervening night of 29 and 30 June and has been in accelerated collapse since then. Restoration works on the damaged stretch have however begun in earnest now, but their efficacy is yet to be proven and will be tested when the rains come down with some intensity next.
As for the mitigation efforts afoot, the electricity post which had tilted when the boundary wall collapsed last night, has been shifted further down to a safer spot and power supply restored to the area.
Sandbag-benching along the failed slope, from the hostel construction site to the houses above has also begun. Meanwhile, the PHE Department has started diverting the sewage lines away from the slope which is now in slide.
The department has channeled two new lines [temporary] to carry away the sewage from this area.
The already dislodged water supply lines to the Central Referral Hospital which was laid across what is now the slide zone has also been dismantled and an alternate route is being laid.
The situation for the buildings above the slide continues to throw up new challenges every day. A retaining wall along the foundation of one such building sported a vertical crack straight down the middle this morning, creating more worries about the stability of the houses here.
Although fresh plaster and plastic sheets are being lavishly spread out, these are obviously band-aid remedies for the fracture that the alignment has become.
Faced with the situation they find themselves in now, the 150 households in the area are now complaining of stubborn official dismissal of their complaints raised in the past. They highlight that when the boundary wall was constructed, they had complained of it blocking drainage in the area and peep-holes were included in the wall for surface run-off. These were however more than 5 inches above the ground level and would have carried away surface run off only when the area flooded.
More worrisome is their official protest against the hostel construction work starting without the slope being fortified. They had done this before construction began and had even met the district authorities formally with the complaint only to be ignored. Now, their fears have come true.
The residents, it is informed, had even lodged an FIR recording the danger posed by the construction below. Nothing came of it either.
It is informed that the slide zone was visited by the HRD Minister, NK Pradhan, UD&HD Minister, DB Thapa, who also happens to be the area MLA, Gangtok Mayor, KN Topgay, DC, D Anandan, SDM, Dr. AB Karki and Chief Engineer, HRDD, MB Gurung this morning. The residents pointed out that the Ministers inspected the slide from the college area and did not visit the affected people above. The district and departmental officials have, however, been visiting the spot since yesterday itself and reassuring the residents of adequate safety measures being taken.
(NowDaily)

Gangtok observes World Music Day

GANGTOK, JUNE 21.Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. June 21st has been celebrated every year as the World Music Day. On this day, the musicians perform for free in open areas. Free concerts are organized in parks, museums, train stations, castle etc. This helps in making all sorts of music accessible to the public. It gives an opportunity to commune and share a special bond through music. There is no restriction for noise on this day.Likewise, the World Music Day was observed today here in the hot spotof the capital “MG Marg” where people had gathered to mark this day in
a special way. A musical event of 2 hours where organized by theCultural Affairs and Heritage Department, Government of Sikkim incollaboration with NEZCC, Guwahati.

Every year, the department has been celebrating the World Music Dayhere in the capital in a very small scale but this is for the first time that it is being observed in open area, informed Mrs. Lata Rajalim, Cultural Officer, Cultural Affairs and Heritage

Department. It believes that this concert provides the platform for the public to connect with all the musical
genres. Mentioning about the day, Mrs. Rajalim said that, the musician are of two type amateur and another professional. Both are encouraged by the Department to perform on this day. Today, the day started by yak dance performed by the local artist from the Culture Department. After performing the yak dance, the day
saw different songs as Limboo, Sherpa, Bhutia, Lepcha, Hindi including Sufi sung by the local artist from the department.Further, eminent local bands like, No Big Deal, Liberated Senses and Urban Inc also performed for the public. The main theme of observing the day in the street is to encourage themusic all over the world and come forward, said Mrs. Rajalim.

During the day, when media had a chat with one of the band member of Urban Inc, Mr. Thupden Wangchuk, said that their album’s priority is to send out message to the youths and is not entirely business oriented but has welcomed sponsors for their self less venture. He added that, the band has drawn inspiration for their personal experiences and from hip-hop icons. “Rise to the top” is the first album of this band which
has altogether 10 songs Nepali, English, Hindi including Tibetan. For the past one
year, the band started their journey where they had performed in Smile Land with Dirty Angles (local band).
Mr. Wangchuk said that, they have extended their appreciation to Enoch Lingdong for being their mentor and motivational factor. “We would also like to thank Khenrab Wangchuk for motivating us. On the same hand, he also thanked Dirty Angles (local band) for helping them and the family who had been instrumental
and supportive in their musical venture.

Today, on the world music day, we performed 3 songs from our new album and happy of being a part of this important day for the musicians, said Mr. Wangchuk.

First Monsoon Rain In Gangtok

GANGTOK, 17 June: The South-West Monsoon finally set over Gangtok on 11 June and had enveloped the state by 14 June. It still took till Thursday, 16 June, for rain to come down with any substantial intensity and the drizzle has stayed since then. This year the monsoon reached Sikkim seven days late. The south-west monsoon entered India through Kerala on 01 June.
A massive low pressure formed over Bay of Bengal on 14 June and due to this deep depression near Kolkata there was a heavy rainfall over Kolkata and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal. This has caused flooding in Kolkata, brought heavier rainfall over the lower hills of Darjeeling district and brought down precipitation over Sikkim.

The deep depression is now moving west-north wards and the state is expected to receive a slight increase in the rainfall after 24 hours, informs the Gangtok Meteorological Centre In-charge, GN Raha.

Gangtok has been recording more than 90% relative humidity with 23 degree Celsius of maximum temperature and 16 degree Celsius of minimum temperature on average this month. This has kept the discomfort levels high and pleasant weather arrived only today after nearly a week of hot and humid conditions.
As per the Met office here, the average rainfall for the month of June is 591mm and this year Gangtok has already recorded 376 mm rainfall.
The persistent drizzle is what the fields, being prepared for paddy, require. Heavier downpour in short bursts cause more harm

1965 Video Interview with Head Mistress of PNG School,Gangtok Miss Martha Hamilton of Edinburg

Report on the military tension on the border between Sikkim and China reveals the vulnerability of the small Indian protectorate. Film of a few Chinese soldiers with cameras gives no indication of the size of the enemy forces. King Palden Thondup Namgyal assumes that Chinese wish to tie down Indian troops away from the Pakistan border. Chinese would however have little difficulty in invading this backward Buddhist Kingdom where schoolchildren (at the Scottish Mission) are taught air raid drill and where adults appear disaffected with their ruler and resentful of their Indian protectors.

Date: 29/09/1965

The religious festival of Saga Dawa celebrated in Gangtok

Gangtok: 15th June: A religious procession, carrying the holy books was taken out from Tharpa Manilhakhang Gumpa at Tathengchen on the occasion of Saga Dawa on 15th June. Procession had a massive participant from the students from Enchey Senior Secondary School (SSS), West Point SSS, Modern SS and Tathengchen SS along with the members of Yargay Association of Tathengchen (YAT) and other social organizations and devotees around the capital. The procession that was organized by Yargay Association of Tathengchen (YAT) covered the route starting from Tathengchen via Secretariat Road, Kazi Road, Tibet Road, MLA Hostel, Tashi Namgyal Academy, and White Hall and finally concluded at the same point from where it  started.

The Saga Dawa prayers and recitations of the holy chants had started since 14th June at Tharpa Manilhakhang by the monks of Enchey Monastery. While speaking to media, General Secretary for YAT, Mr. Karma Denzongpa informed that, before taking out of these holy text books it was read and recited by 32 monks of Enchey Monastery. Mr. Denzongpa also informed that every year YAT organizes the Saga Dawa prayers but for the first it has taken out the procession in a massive way for the devotees. Further more Mr. Denzongpa added that, this time Saga Dawa celebration was celebrated in a grand manner as every thing that was organized was conducted in a most religious manner and the process of celebration was holy and the devotees who ever participated were blessed with a thousand blessing by lighting one butter lamp at the monastery.

‘Mahzong’ on-shore live 'Casino' at Mayfair,Gangtok opens on June8

All casino aficionados in India who rued the lack of a live casino in the country and had to travel to destinations like Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau or Kathmandu for that thrill of ‘live gaming’ now have a reason to cheer. A full-fledged on-shore casino, the first of its kind in the country, is coming up at Mayfair-Gangtok, a five-star deluxe property spread over 48 acres and owned by the Orissa-based Mayfair Hotels & Resorts
The company is going for soft launch of the casino at Gangtok on June 8, something which the hotel chain’s founder chairman Dilip Ray calls ‘’dream come true’’.

“We have got the license to operate the first full-scale, regular and live casino in the country at our Gangtok property. On June 8, we are doing a soft opening of the casino while the grand opening is slated for June 24”, says Ray.

Christened ‘Mahzong’ (Chinese term for gambling), Ray expects, the casino to pull a substantial outbound casino traffic from the country and also draw gaming lovers from Goa. However, he did not share his business expectations from the casino, saying it is pre-mature at this stage to talk of numbers.

“There are a lot of players in the country and there is a great deal of potential. The poker game is really catching up. A lot of Indians from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and some from Kolkata visit Kathmandu for that live gaming experience. But no study has been done yet on the casino industry in the country”, said he.
Though the casino industry has been somewhat thriving in Goa, yet there was no scope for live gaming as yet. Players had to go off shore in Goa and then indulge themselves in casino and that too, play only electronic games, Ray claimed. “We are going to ask for a Casino license in Goa as well”, he said.

It may be noted that the Public Gambling Act of 1867, a Central legislation which prohibits public gambling, applies to all states barring Goa and Sikkim which have their own laws that permit gambling.

In Goa, an amendment created to the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976 allows casinos to be set up only at five star hotels or offshore vessels with the prior permission of the government.

On the other hand, in Sikkim, the Sikkim Casino Games (Control and Tax Rules), 2002 gives discretion to the Sikkim government to grant licenses to individuals or establishments for setting up casinos.

The Sikkim Regulation of Gambling (Amendment) Act, 2005 also gives the government discretionary powers to authorize gambling either on certain days or to certain gambling houses by grant of license.

Initially, the casino at Mayfair-Gangtok will operate on a makeshift basis from the hotel’s conference hall with a built-up area of around 1000 sq ft. But later it will move to a 30,000 sq ft space reserved for the purpose within the premises. The casino will occupy three to four floors and will operate from 4 pm to 6 am.

The casino will have an almost entire gamut of live games- roulette, black jack, baccarat, kitty, mini flush and poker. Players will be charged an entry fee of Rs 500 and there are 150 dealers at the casino. Food, drinks and entertainment will be offered as complementaries to the participants.

“The games will be played at the gaming table and 150 dealers (casino staff) will be there to assist the gamblers. In order to avoid fraudulent practices, CCTV cameras have been installed and dealers will be changing in every twenty minutes”, Ray said.

Ray also plans to put up a shopping arcade at the casino after a year of its functioning.

He is also betting big on the casino business and expects Gangtok to be one of the sought after casino hubs in the world as the city is expected to get an airport within a year.

For the kin accompanying casino lovers, there would be a separate entertainment zone with a dedicated troupe of singers and dancers and this has been planned out on the lines of Kathmandu casinos

Sikkim Gets 2.5 lakh tourists by April 2011

GANGTOK, 31 May: The tourist season is underway full swing. And as is expected, long queues waiting taxis can be seen at the taxi stops, especially during office hours. People are complaining against the non-availability of taxis and also the service of SNT city runners which are either not regular or not enough.
The official data of Tourism Department as on 30 April 2011 shows that the State has already received 2,44,642 domestic and 7,539 foreign tourists in the first four months of the year. Comparing figures for last year, show the inflow of domestic tourists at 2,36,312. But the data shows decline in the inflow of foreign tourists as the number was 7,945 last year, which is higher by 406.

The data for the month of May 2011 has not been compiled yet, but last year, the highest number of domestic tourists at 1,16,641 visited the State in the month of May. Comparative figures till April this year and the crowd of domestic tourists in the market suggests that the last year’s May record of domestic tourists will be broken this time.
“The increase in the arrival of tourists could be because of the good weather conditions and also there is no disruption on the National Highway,” said a travel agent, adding that, this year, maximum tourists are visiting North Sikkim.

As evidence, a Government employee posted in Mangan said, “I came to the head office on Saturday with some official work and I was supposed to return on Monday but was unable to get a single seat. Since morning I’m waiting for the vehicle.”

A hotelier at Tibet Road confirmed that his 12-roomed hotel was packed for the entire month of May with bookings full till June 05.

But there is the worry about the decline in the inflow of foreign tourists. The data reveales that except January, there is a marked decline in the arrivals as compared to last year’s data.

January’s data shows foreign tourists inflow at 1,436 against at 984 last year. February- 1,065, March- 2,423 and April- 2,615 foreigners visited the State compared to last year’s 1,320, 2,605 and 3,036 respectively.

In 2010 a total of 7,00,011 domestic tourists arrived in the State, whereas, 20,757 foreign tourists had chosen Sikkim as one of the tourist spots

Gangtok experiences local taxi problems in tourist season

GANGTOK: One of the best way to know that tourist season is ‘in’ is when people are seen queuing up on the roads waiting for taxi. Large numbers of tourists are visiting Sikkim every day, which is actually good but the flip side of this is the unavailability of taxis for the normal passengers.

Recently the Government had come up with a very good proposal of starting ‘Gangtok Darshan’ bus services for the tourists but it had to be dropped because of the opposition form the Driver’s Association. But had the Government started this project every day passengers would not have faced so much of problems.

The SNT is trying to help by providing city runners but those buses are not as convenient as the taxis because of the problem for stoppage. The taxi drivers had opposed the Gangtok Darshan project as they were apprehensive that their bread and butter may be compromised, but looking at the queue of people at roadside everyday it appears that it is the general public who are compromised by the decision the most.

Mr RB Rai resident of Daragaon Tadong said that “he works in private sector but due to traffic problems and shortage of the taxi is unable to reach office in time ‘everyday’”. This is the story of maximum of Government employees as well travelling by taxi these days.

President of Travel Agent Association of Sikkim (TAAS) Mr. Lukendra Rasaily when approached said that the Government must consider luxury bus service for the tourists to bring quality in tourism. He also added that many locals will get employment as guides, caterers, drivers, helping boys etc. This project will also give an authentic flavor to the tourism service and will also help in controlling overcharging, which has become a serious issue, concerning the image of Sikkim Tourism itself.

(Sikkim Mail)

Gangtok mountain-biking event scheduled for 31 May

gangtok mountain biking

GANGTOK, 26 May [IPR]: Speaker KT Gyaltsen, who is also the area MLA of Syari constituency, along with officials from the Department of Tourism, members from Recovering Users Network and members of the Sikkim Mountain Bikers group met to discuss tourism-based activities for Syari and introduce mountain biking in the area to promote tourism by creating sustainable ecotourism opportunities and also generating awareness against substance abuse and alcoholism.
The meeting started off with the MLA welcoming the officials and members of the RCU and Sikkim Mountain Bikers club.
It was decided that a mountain biking event cum awareness programme be flagged off from Chandmari (Dechiling) to Pabyuik monastery in Pabyuik-Naitam on 31 May. The event is projected to generate interest in eco-friendly tourism, introduce the area to the monastic tourism circuit and spread awareness on the adverse effects of drug use.

Clean-up Gangtok drains before rains to avoid landslides

Gangtok, May 26: The East district collectorate today asked all agencies concerned to clean up roadside drains and jhoras and remove trees, which are likely to fall, before the monsoons to reduce chances of landslides and road blocks.

“If we manage to clean all the roadside drains and jhoras before the monsoons there is 50 per cent less chance of natural calamities (striking the areas). Most of the slides in East Sikkim had taken place when garbage blocked the drains and jhoras,” said East district collector D. Anandan during a pre-monsoon meeting here today.

Representatives of various departments including fire, civil defence, urban development, forest, power, PHE, police and the Border Roads Organisation attended the meeting.

Monsoon in Sikkim usually begins in the second week of June and lasts till late September.

The district collector said water overflowing from the drains during the monsoon often gets blocked by garbage creating slush and triggering landslides. If the garbage is cleaned then the water can flow freely reducing chances of a mudslide.

Anandan is also the chairman of the district level relief committee that hands out compensation and sanctions for temporary restoration under the natural calamity funds. Last year the committee had sanctioned 163 projects for the restoration of damaged roads, telephone and power poles in the landslide affected areas of East Sikkim. Each project was of around Rs 50,000.

Multiple mudslides along NH31A between Gangtok and Rangpo in July last year had damaged the road for almost two weeks.

“Since maintenance of roads in urban areas is the responsibility of the urban development department, the department should clean up road side drains under its jurisdiction. Similarly, those jhoras in the urban areas which have not been cleaned by the civic body shall be cleaned for free flow of storm water,” said Anandan. He has also directed the BRO to clear drains along the area under its jurisdiction.

Project Swastik of the BRO is responsible for the maintenance of NH31A, the North Sikkim highway, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg that connects Gangtok to Nathu-la.

The district collector added that the BRO has been directed to build proper drains and take precautionary measures to limit chances of slides during road widening work.

“We have already told the government that the major hurdle for clearing drains is the cluster of water supply pipes which are running along side the drains,” he said.

The PHE department has been instructed to regulate the pipelines being laid down along the drains. The forest department has been asked to conduct a survey to identify trees, especially along NH31A, that are likely to fall during the monsoon.

“These trees should be removed at the earliest and resistance to remove such trees from private holdings shall be dealt (with) legally,” said Anandan.

The superintendent of police (East district) Mandeep Singh Tuli said a road block on the highway causes congestion in the town. “If there is a block for even 30 minutes on the highway, the traffic jam in Gangtok extends for almost 12km up to Ranipool,” he said.

The district collector said the administration will write to the BSNL authorities. “We will be writing to the BSNL authorities for ensuring good communication network which is very essential for timely rescue and relief measures. The BSNL should ensure that communications are always intact. They should also immediately restore telephone services disrupted because of natural calamities.”

All agencies have been directed to prepare their own line of action for responding to disasters. “In case of a distress call, the departments should be ready with their set of measures to be undertaken instead of coming up with impromptu arrangements,” said Anandan.

Lady conductors of Gangtok City Runners

GANGTOK- Two Sikkimese lady conductors have sucessfully completed seven months as conductors for government run city buses in Gangtok proving that women too can compete with men in every sphere.
Ofcourse, passengers gawk at Pemala Bhutia(24) and Jyoti Subba(26) and remain nonplusses soetimes when these two lady bus conductors ask them the bus fares.

'It is not easy to deal with passengers, I think they don't consider me as a bus conductor because I am a woman. There are some passengers who remain stumped when I ask them the bus fare and only after some time, they realize that I am the bus conductor and start paying. Since we are the first women bus conductors in Sikkim, even women passengers find it diffivult to believe us as conductors', said Pemala while sharing her experience working as a bus conductor after receiving appointment orders along with Jyoti from the State Government on Octover last year.
These two ladies were among the ten bus conductors appointed at that time.

Pemala, who stays at Rumtek with her recently married husband, takes the SNT city runner every morning from Rumtek to Gangtok at 7 am. She gets home at around 5-6 pm tired and exhausted. 'I get tred as I have to stand on the bus when all the seats are occupied', she said.

'No job is easy. The profession is challenging but I am satisfied and will not step back as I have received good training from the government', she said.
'Who to shy away from working? No work is small', said Pemala, a graduate from Sikkim Government College.