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

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

PM Singh holds review meeting with Sikkim CM Pawan Chamling in Gangtok

Gangtok: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced Rs 1000 crore as relief funds for quake-hit Sikkim. The PM also said accommodation will be provided to those rendered homeless.

The Centre will also provide assistance for earthquake proof buildings in the state. Reconstruction of rural roads, school buildings and public buildings will also be funded by the Centre.

Dr Singh is on a daylong visit in Sikkim today to assess and review the damage caused by the September 18 earthquake. The 6.8-magnitude tremor killed close to 80 people and left about 350 injured in the state.

"On arrival in Gangtok after making the aerial survey, the prime minister visited the injured at the Sikkim Manipal Hospital," a government spokesperson said.

Dr Singh will also hold a review meeting with Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling in Gangtok. Earlier, he arrived in Bagdogra from New Delhi before boarding an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter for the aerial survey.

(With agency inputs)

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.

Amitabh Bachchan to Invite Sikkim Quake Victims on Kaun Banega Crorepati

MUMBAI: Actor Amitabh Bachchan on Tuesday night tweeted that he wanted to call the victims of Sikkim quake on his show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC).

The actor said that many quake-hit villages in north east India still remain unattended by the administration. He tweeted, "Conversing with gentleman from Darjeeling .. stating that several villages still unattended to after quake and in desperate condition If there are some people that are reading this please inform concerned Government authorities of condition in Darjeeling area."

Bachchan has plans to invite some people from the quake-hit area on his quiz show. He tweeted, "Calling people to KBC affected from the quake we shall endeavour .. as far as charity goes, believe it needs to be done not talked of.''

About 111 people were killed after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit north-east India and Nepal on September 18.

AFTER SIKKIM EARTHQUAKE: More than 10 Buildings to be demolished in Gangtok

GANGTOK, 26 Sept: A total of 10-12 buildings in Gangtok and Singtam have been identified for demolishing. While a huge percentage of buildings have been substantially damaged by the earthquake of 18 September, there are some which are not habitable, and furthermore, pose a threat to neighbouring buildings. All such buildings had been ordered to be evacuated by the district administration earlier and now, after an inspection the DC [East], D Anandan, has issued notices to the owners of 10 buildings in East District that their structures should be demolished.
As per the notice issued by the DC, East the buildings have to be demolished within three days.
Mr. Anandan informs that these buildings have to be demolished by the owners themselves at their own cost. The onus of dismantling the buildings lies with the owners. However, should the owners of the listed buildings fail to dismantle their structures within the given timeframe, the district administration will take further action.
The decision for issuing notices for dismantlement was taken after the submission of the inspection report which recommended such demolishment. The inspection is being conducted by a technical team comprising of UD&HD engineers along with two members from IIT Roorkee - Structural Engineer Emra and Seismologist Prof ML Sharma; the team also includes Assistant Geologist from Mines & Geology Department, KK Luitel.
It was informed that the team has inspected 406 buildings in and around Gangtok thus far.
Of the inspected 406 buildings, 70 [including those neighbouring the buildings marked for demolishment] have been evacuated and have been recommended for retrofitting and repairs

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Sikkim on September 29

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit the earthquake-hit areas of Sikkim on September 29. West Bengal Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters Dr. Singh would reach Gangtok via Bagdogra in north Bengal from Delhi.

Home Department Officials said the Prime Minister's detailed programme had not been received yet.

Over 100 people lost their lives in the September 18 earthquake

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.

PM Manmohan Singh cancels visit to Sikkim

GANGTOK: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s proposed visit to Sikkim on July 27 has been cancelled owing to unavoidable circumstances, official sources said.

The Prime Minister was scheduled to visit the Sikkim to assess situation arising after Sikkim Earthquake in state.The state had been hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on September 18 causing extensive damage in the state.

The state government received an official communication from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about the cancellation of the visit as informed to media by IPR Secretary Topgay.

As rescue and relief operations continued in the incessant rain the official death toll hit the 77 mark. Bad weather and torrential rain hampered search and rescue operations in the quake-affected areas. The injured are being treated in various government facilities and also referred to hospitals outside the state.

As per the data provided by IPR, 102 relief camps are operational in the quake affected areas of the state. The Sikkim government employees have decided to contribute a day’s salary for relief.

NIMHANS to provide psycho-social care to Sikkimquake Victims

Gangtok: The Government of Sikkim has disbursed Rs 14.21 crore as relief among quake-hit people in Sikkim while experts from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, were sent to provide psycho-social care to the people affected by the natural calamity.

A five-member team comprising psychiatrists from the Department of Psychiatric Social Work, NIMHANS, visited the quake site on Sunday evening. The Union Health Ministry had requested the doctors to visit the site and take stock of the situation there. “Depending on the response from the locals there, subsequent action will be taken,” said Dr Satish Chandra, Director, NIMHANS.

Home Ministry officials said though most of the roads blocked following landslides have been reopened, some were still blocked as Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and Army engineers were working for their restoration.

“A total of `14.21 crore has been disbursed as relief by the state government till date,” officials said. Due to incessant rains, landslides have occurred in Dzongu. No casualty has been reported but relief work is being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force, state police and NGOs.

However, relief activities, including airlifting of victims, are not being carried out in Chugthang, Lachen and Lachung due to heavy rains. Approximately 11,000 food packets have been air dropped so far in the northern part of the North District. However, the airdropping of food packets on Monday was stalled due to inclement weather.

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

Helicopter sorties with relief to earthquake-affected areas due to incessant rain

Gangtok: Helicopter sorties with relief to earthquake-affected areas which resumed Sunday after a two-day gap were again suspended due to incessant rain on Monday.

A senior Army official said that nine Army helicopters were engaged yesterday in the relief operation dropping ration and evacuating stranded people from different parts of North Sikkim. He said that on the state’s request, the Army has released 3,000 litres of kerosene to Chungthang and 2,000 litres of kerosene to Lachung.

The Army has also opened seven relief camps at Chungthang where most people living in villages surrounding the sub-divisional town have arrived. Prem Subba, who came down from Thangu, which is beyond Lachen, said most of the residents have abandoned their houses fearing they might crumble anytime after suffering structural damage in the earthquake.

Sonam, also from Thangu, said most people were sleeping in tents at the camps.

Meena Rai and her entire family of five are also residing in the relief camp opened at the Gurudwara having come down from a nearby village.

Chungthang has also experienced a large influx of labourers who are not just employed with the hydel project here, but also those from road and other construction projects further north.

They have been trekking down to Chungthang for the last couple of days and are awaiting helicopter evacuation. Despite many labourers having been evacuated, there are still around 400 of them stranded there, still desperately trying to get a ride back home in one of the choppers.

There has been a mass exodus of labourers also from places above Chungthang, as far north as Dombang where a road construction company is engaged in the construction of a road from Dombang to Gora La.

Balwant Rai and Sushil Singh, both from Benaras, said that the military and labour camp up there had been totally destroyed. However, 200-odd labourers survived and managed to escape and take a three-day trek down to Chungthang. In many ways the Ground Zero of the devastating earthquake, Chungthang is by far the worst affected town which has suffered a trail of devastation and destruction left by the earthquakes.

As many as 13 deaths have taken place there alone, many are missing and almost all houses and structures have been damaged. With most structures rendered unsafe and residents still insecure about returning to even houses which have suffered only minor damage, most are still sleeping in the camps and open spaces, a week since the calamity.

The Chungthang SDM office has conducted a preliminary investigation of the damages in and around Chungthang though there has not been enough time for a detailed examination yet.

The preliminary report suggests that 90 houses in Chungthang have been totally damaged. The town has about 120 households. Of the 90 totally damaged houses, 25 are stated to be uninhabitable.

Though there is death and destruction everywhere, the sub-divisional office is functioning thanks to 12 sets of WLL phones and one satellite phone provided by the BSNL.

BDO Samdup Bhutia said, “our priority was to evacuate the injured and tourists followed by women and children and finally the elderly.”

A total of seven relief camps have been set up here by the administration which are managed with the help of local people.

A task force has also been set up comprising local panchayat members, district officials, officials from private companies, local people, the Army as well as other agencies aiding the relief and rehabilitation efforts

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

Army wants VVIPs kept out of Sikkim till relief and rescue operations

Gangtok: The Army has given an unusual suggestion to the government for improving the relief and rescue operations in earthquake devastated regions of Sikkim - keep VVIPs off the area.

A senior government source said the Army conveyed its suggestion to the defence ministry this weekend, after the Army and IAF were forced to divert significant number helicopters and personnel for visit of various VVIPs. Among those who have already visited the region are Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and home minister P Chidambaram.

The suggestion could put an end to the plans of other Union ministers and senior political leaders to visit Gangtok and other areas of northern Sikkim where the damage has been the worst. The Army on its part is also believed to have decided not to plan a trip by the Army chief or other senior officers to avoid strain on the ongoing rescue operations.

Because of a host of factors, including the remoteness of villages, the rescue and relief operations are heavily dependent on the helicopter fleet of IAF and Army. Between the two forces, there is a fleet of Advance Light Helicopters, Cheetah/Chetak and Mi-17s in the region.

For Chungthang and beyond, the Army maintains ration of 55 days on normal times, as part of its preparedness for the border region. But since the earthquake, this ration is being distributed to local residents. Thus maintaining those ration stocks, reaching aviation fuel, diesel etc to the military formations that are beyond the road cut-off by earthquake are all dependent on helicopters.

An Army official said personnel of 33 Corps has reached almost all villages, but in many villages they found only rubble. It could be due to the residents migrating to nearest road-heads, or other villages, or there could be worse than assessed disaster buried in those villages, he admitted.

Over 90 people have been killed and a few hundred injured in the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on September 18.

Sikkim getting back to normal

Gangtok, Sept. 25: A landslide at 32 Mile on National Highway 31A today cut off Sikkim’s sole road link with the rest of the country for six hours.

The highway, near Singtam in East district, was cleared of debris a little after noon.

“The debris and fallen trees were cleared around 12.30pm. Although we are pressed for resources, which are being utilised to clear the Mangan-Chungthang road in North Sikkim, we managed to pull out a bulldozer and some manpower from there to remove the debris here (at 32 Mile),” said A.K. Das, the joint director of the Border Roads Organisation’s Project Swastik. An occasional boulder and slush are still slipping down the hill slopes at several points along NH31A since the earthquake last Sunday.

In North Sikkim, Chungthang and areas beyond it, continued to receive food rations from the army even as the choppers were pressed for evacuation. Multiple landslides after the earthquake have blocked the highway from Mangan onwards, the district headquarters of North Sikkim.

According to Colonel Ravi Patel, the spokesperson for the 17th Mountain Division, nine army choppers were pressed into service today. They dropped 300kg of food at Chungthang, 400kg at Lachen and 800kg at Lachung. Technicians from the civilian administration were also air dropped to assist in relief operations and revive radio communication.

Four mountaineers brought by the state government were also flown to Chungthang, 100km from Mangan, to help in the search and rescue operations.

Injured persons and those wanting to leave were evacuated from these regions, the army spokesperson said at the media briefing today.

“In addition to this, certain quantity of diesel and kerosene were dropped at Chungthang and Lachung for the civilians and to meet the fuel requirements of the machines used by the BRO for road restoration work there,” said Col Patel.

A total of 3,300kg of food ration were dropped at five villages in Dzongu in North Sikkim. Landslides have made the hamlets inaccessible by road.

Palchen Lachenpa, a resident of Lachen, 28km from Chungthang, who was airlifted to Gangtok today, said: “We want to tell our relatives and our children who are studying outside Sikkim that we are all safe in Lachen though property has been damaged. Around 150 people in Lachen have been staying together at the village monastery. There is no need to worry. The army is providing us with food there.”

The spokesperson for the Sikkim government, K.S. Topgay, said the state was getting back to normal and “the death toll remained 77”.

The joint director of the land revenue department, G.C. Khanal, said a six-member team, consisting among others three geologists from IIT Roorkee, will be flying to Lachen and Lachung soon to study the health of the lakes and structural stability of buildings. They will then submit a report to the state government.

VIDEO: Hydro Power Project Workers Flee North Sikkim After Earthquake