Bridge collapses near Darjeeling injuring and killing many

Darjeeling, Oct. 22: A bridge packed with a festival crowd caved in near Darjeeling town this evening, killing at least 27 people when the wooden walkway tumbled 150ft into a swift-flowing river.

Police sources said nearly 80 people were injured in the 7pm collapse in Bijanbari, about 40km from Darjeeling town.

Most of those on the bridge — suspended by steel cables over the Little Rangit — were Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters who had gathered for a cultural programme organised by the outfit as part of its five-day festival in the hills. Today was the festival’s last day.

Darjeeling district magistrate Saumitra Mohan said at least 27 people were killed in the collapse. “We have reports that some of the casualties were taken away by villagers from the incident site.”

Mohan, who reached the spot, added that efforts were on to send the injured to the Darjeeling district hospital.

Police sources said the darkness was hampering rescue and efforts were on to set up floodlights. “There is considerable water in the swift-flowing river and we fear that some of the victims could have been swept away by the current. The terrain is also very difficult,” said a senior police officer on the spot.

Sources in the district administration said the bridge, about 80ft long and 6ft wide, was built by the Darjeeling zilla parishad in 1972.

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said party volunteers were helping the police to rescue the injured.

“Our party president, Bimal Gurung, and I had visited Bijanbari this morning…. In the evening there was a large crowd, mostly local residents and those from nearby tea gardens of Chunthung, Marybong and Linga, who had gathered to witness the cultural programmes and the mela on the other side of the bridge,” Giri said.

In Calcutta, chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters she had asked north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb and Siliguri MLA Rudranath Bhattacharya to rush to Darjeeling.

Mamata, who is expected to leave for Darjeeling tomorrow, said the Bengal government would do all it could to stand by those affected “during this tragic hour” and bear all medical expenses.

Survivor Nirmal Chhetri, a driver, recalled the horror from his bed in Darjeeling district hospital. “There was a loud sound and I saw the bridge collapsing. I fell and cannot remember what happened after that.”

Source: The Telegraph

GJM seeks quake relief package for Darjeeling

On the eve of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit to Darjeeling, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leadership said on Sunday that the devastation in the Darjeeling Hills caused by last month's earthquake near the Sikkim-Nepal border had been largely ignored by the State and Central governments.

It also demanded a special package of at least Rs.1,000 crore for restoration work and resettlement of the affected.

“The devastation caused by the earthquake in Sikkim has received the attention it deserved. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Minister Chidambaram and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi visited Sikkim and relief packages have been announced, but no such package has been given to the Darjeeling Hills,” Harka Bahadur Chettri, senior GJM leader and the party's MLA from Kalimpong told The Hindu over telephone.

Dr. Chettri said the GJM leadership would meet Ms. Banerjee on Monday and submit a memorandum. “We expect Ms. Banerjee to impress upon the Centre the urgent need to provide relief to the quake victims in Darjeeling hills,” he said.

Dr. Chettri pointed out that the death toll in Sikkim had been very high, whereas not many died in the Darjeeling Hills, but the damage to property on this side of the State border “is in no way less than that in Sikkim.”

“There are many remote places here where the government machinery has not yet been able to reach,” Dr. Chettri said, adding that the quake caused damage worth several thousand crores of rupees.

The Prime Minister had announced a special package of Rs.1,000 crore for earthquake relief in Sikkim during his visit there last month. Immediately after the tragedy, Ms. Banerjee had announced compensation to those killed and injured in the earthquake in West Bengal, but the State government had not announced any relief for those who lost their houses, Dr. Chettri said.

Source: The Hindu

2.5 lakh tea workers are yet to get the new revised scale

Siliguri, Oct. 5: Trade unions fear that if tea wages for Dooars workers are not revised before Diwali, planters may delay the negotiation and extend it to next year citing the three-month lean season starting from November.

Around 2.5 lakh tea workers are yet to get the new scale to be revised from the existing Rs 67 per day.

The trade unions had been insisting on Rs 90 a day like the hill workers, a proposal that has been shot down by planters who have argued that Darjeeling Tea is sold at a much higher price than CTC, which is grown in the Dooars. So, the salary of hill workers could not be compared with those in the plains.

“We had been waiting eagerly for Durga Puja to end and want the wages to be finalized at the earliest. It would be best if it is settled before Diwali, which is around 20 days away,” said Aloke Chakraborty, the Darjeeling district president of Intuc, the trade union of the Congress.

“If no decision is reached till Diwali and the current month ends, it will be difficult for us to negotiate as the lean season will commence from November. Planters, who will not earn during these months because of halt in production, may delay the negotiation till the next season starting in March 2012,” said Chakraborty.

The current wages are paid on the basis of a three-year tripartite agreement signed in 2008.

It expired on March 31 this year and since then there had been seven rounds of unsuccessful tripartite talks. The last was held on the first week of September.

“During the course of the negotiation, we brought down our demands considerably but the planters have refused to relent even then,” said Sukra Munda, the chairperson of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad-  backed Progressive Tea Workers’ Union

“Given the trend of talks, we doubt whether any agreement will be signed at all in the coming lean season. It is best to bargain and convince planters in the next 15-20 days to agree to a revised scale, that is, before Diwali and immediately after Puja.”

The state labor department has called another round of tripartite talks on October 13.

“We are now hoping that the talks succeed as already six months of the current fiscal has passed. Workers want an early solution, as they are aware that their counterparts in the Darjeeling hills are earning Rs 90 a day. They will surely get arrears as the new agreement will be effective from April 1, 2011 but it is a test of patience,” said Samir Roy, convener of the Defense Committee for Plantation Workers Rights, an apex body of tea trade unions.

Planters, however, said the gardens had suffered considerably in the September 18 earthquake.

“Most of the gardens in the Terai and the Dooars have suffered damage and some have incurred losses worth crores,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary of the Dooars Branch of the Indian Tea Association. “Regarding settlement of wages, we were never reluctant to negotiate. We had already submitted detailed information to the state government about the expenses incurred to run a tea estate.”

“It is not the question of lean season but the affordability of the tea companies that has to be kept in mind. The trade unions should rationalize their demands. We too had proposed a revised wage and do not want to drag on the issue. We are hopeful of a positive outcome at the meeting called by the state labor department next week,” he added.

Barros for apples in Darjeeling

Chile's ambassador to India, Cristan Barros who was in Kolkata expressed his interest to extend technological support in the agriculture sector to Bengal government to produce best quality fruits in the state. Even the barren land can be used for best quality fruit production. He mentioned that Chile's fresh fruits and fruit products are exported to different parts of the globe and US consumes a major part of it.

Barros said that the Chile can provide support to Bengal government in preserving fruits. This would help the state to earn more revenue from fruits and fruit products. "We have the know how to produce best fruits. If our knowledge gets implemented on the barren lands in Bengal, it would prove to be remunerative. Land is an asset and needs to be put to best use, so that the state can earn from it." The diplomat has graciously offered to provide support so that apples can be grown in Darjeeling. He said that the temperature there can be considered best for growing apples. He also wanted that Bengal farmers should go for growing more cherry and plums, as it is in high demand in the global market.

Moreover the diplomat said that they are also willing to have joint venture in mining sector as Chile is known for its mines. "We can provide latest technology in mining sector as well, so that Bengal can use its mining resources in a better way."


Source: The Times of India

GTA divide clouds civic polls in Darjeeling hills

Although the state municipal affairs department has sent a proposal for holding municipal elections in the Darjeeling hills in December, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) is adamant on having the elections only after the territory of the GTA is determined.

The joint verification committee is scheduled to submit its report on the inclusion of mouzas of Terai and Dooars area into GTA after January. The differences between the state government and the GTA on the issue has made the elections uncertain in the hills.

“We have requested the state government to hold the elections in the hills after the territory of the GTA is decided. It is not practical and wise to hold the elections twice, once before the inclusion of the mouzas from Terai and Dooars and once again after the inclusion of the mouzas. We are trying to convince the state government and talks are on,” said a senior central committee member of GJM. However, the government is yet to respond to the matter, he said.

Significantly, on September 25, it was officially announced the elections to four Darjeeling Hill municipalities will be held on December 11. The last municipal elections in the hills were held in 2004. With the GJM managing to seize power by driving out the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leaders and supporters from the hills in mid-2008, the GNLF municipal councillors had defected to the GJM. Since then, the GJM agitating for a separate state has put a halt to the elections to municipalities and panchayats.

Since then, the four hill municipalities have been run by boards of administrators headed by the SDO in each sub division of the district. Even panchayat elections are overdue in the hills since 2005.

Meanwhile, the joint verification committee on determining the territory of the GTA has started receiving the claims and objections from the people of the Terai and Dooars area.

“After the advertisement was published, the committee has received over 50 letters of claims and objections. We have specified the claims and objections should be based on facts and figures and should be supported by proper data sheets,” said an official.

He said they will receive the suggestions till end of October and in November, the committee will meet again to discuss the claims and objections.

Source: Express News Service

Safe message for visitors

Tour operators in north Bengal have assured tourists through a campaign that the region was safe and all facilities in place for visitors.

According to the operators, roads leading to different destinations across the hills, except North Sikkim, are open and visitors can travel in the region during Puja without any problems.

Representatives of the Eastern Himalaya Travel and Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA), who held a seminar on Tuesday to mark World Tourism Day, said helpdesks would be set up in six places from October 1 to 8 to guide tourists who would visit the region during Durga Puja.

The counters that would be set up in New Jalpaiguri railway station, Bagdogra airport and Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus, among other places, will be manned by tour operators and hotelliers.

“North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb has insisted that our members should be posted at the helpdesks to extend co-operation to tourists reaching any of the entry points during Puja holidays,” Raj Basu, an adviser to the EHTTOA, said.

According to Basu, the industry has suffered an annual loss of 65 per cent in the past three-four years because of the political disturbance in the hills.

“Things were favourable this season, which would commence from this weekend, and the season was historical considering the rate of inquiries and the bookings. Things, however, were affected to some extent because of the recent earthquake but we want to pass (on) a clear message to the visitors that the situation is perfectly normal here and there is nothing to worry,” he said.

The EHTTOA introduced an “any time auto” service in town yesterday to handle the rush of visitors.

“Any person can call up (9434891056) and ask for an auto-rickshaw that would be available round the clock,” Samrat Sanyal, the EHTTOA president, said.

He added that the service has started with a few auto-rickshaws that are being parked along Hill Cart Road.

But later more vehicles would be introduced depending on the demand, he said.

Source: The Telegraph

Darjeeling Hills civic polls scheduled for December 11

Darjeeling: Elections to the four hill municipalities will be held on December 11, more than two years after polls could not be held following stiff resistance from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and nobody coming forward to file nominations.

So long, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik municipalities had been run by a board of administrators.

District magistrate Saumitra Mohan said: “We have received a notification from the state government and elections to all the four hill municipalities will be held on December 11.” The schedule for the election has, however, not been finalised but is expected in a day or two.

The elections to the municipalities were scheduled for June 28, 2009 last time. But following opposition from the Morcha which demanded that the state government first implement a three-tier panchayat system in the hills, nobody filed nominations.

The Darjeeling municipality was set up in 1850 and is the second oldest in Bengal with 32 wards. Kalimpong has 23 wards followed by 20 wards in Kurseong and nine in Mirik.

Since July 14, 2009, a day after the five-year term of the hill municipalities came to an end, the civic bodies have been run by a board of administrators with the SDOs of the respective subdivisions as chairpersons of the board.

After the memorandum of agreement was signed between the Centre, the state government and the Morcha on July 18 this year to set up the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, provisions were included to ensure that the three- tier panchyat system was brought back in the hills.

Following the insertion of the clause, the Morcha is now eager to hold the municipal elections. The state government has, however, made it clear that the three-tier panchayat system would be in place only after the GTA is implemented. The Morcha, too, had agreed to the state government proposal.

This time too the Constitution has to be amended. It was amended once in 1992, soon after the DGHC was formed. The amendment was necessitated to implement a two-tier rural system for the Darjeeling hills since no two zilla parishads — the highest rung in the panchayati system — could exist in one district. So while the plains of the Darjeeling district had a Mahakuma Parishad (equivalent to the zilla parishad), the hills had a two-tier system without the zilla parishad.

This clause will now have to be amended to put in bring back the three-tier panchayat system in the hills.

Source: The Telegraph

Rain and landslide cuts off road in Darjeeling, Darjeeling schools advance their puja holidays

Darjeeling, Sept. 26: Continuous rain in the hills for the past 48 hours prompted many schools to suspend classes today and others to advance their Puja vacation by three days.

A stretch of about 20 metres of the 18 Lebong Cart Road in Darjeeling caved in around 10.30 last night, disrupting traffic between the town and areas like Singamari and Lebong on the fringes and even to Jorethang in Sikkim.

Although there is an alternative route through the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park to bypass the cave-in, St Joseph’s School (North Point) decided to close down for the Puja vacation today itself.

The Puja holiday was earlier scheduled from September 30.

“Even though there is an alternative route to reach our school, we thought it would be too much of an inconvenience to ask students to use that congested stretch. This is why we decided to advance the Puja vacation,” said Father Kinley Tshering, rector of North Point School in Singamari, around 3km from Darjeeling town. The day scholars come to school in buses or cars. Some of them also walk to school. Classes will resume after vacation on October 16, as scheduled.

Father Tshering said the parents of the boarders have been informed. The school has around 600 boarders from the hills, Siliguri, Calcutta, Bihar, Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and even Thailand.

Mount Hermon School, which is situated in the same area as North Point, however, did not suspend classes today.

“If the rain persists we may think of closing down for a day or two,” said George Fernandez, principal of Mount Hermon.

Asked if the Puja holidays, scheduled from October 1, would be advanced, Fernandez said: “With the earthquake, then the landslide and the rains the general spirit is very low. I personally would have wanted to close down for vacation but again if we do so the parents will be inconvenienced as most of them have already booked tickets for October 1. Rescheduling their tickets during tourist season would be difficult.”

Mount Hermon authorities, however, said they might allow boarders from nearby areas like Sikkim to leave earlier if the rain persisted.

Many schools like Ramakrishna Siksha Parisad and St Robert’s Higher Secondary, located in the heart of the town, also suspended classes because of the rain.

Weather experts have warned that a low pressure had developed in the region and there could be more rain in the days to come

“A low pressure trough is hovering over north Bengal and adjoining Bihar at 5.8km above the sea level. This would cause heavy to very heavy rainfall in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts in the next 24 hours,” Indranil Sengupta, the assistant meteorological officer of the Regional Met Office in Jalpaiguri, said.

The stretch of 18 Lebong Cart Road that caved in is likely to take almost a month to be restored. Most of the Darjeeling Tea gardens residing in the Lebong valley region are also cut off.

District magistrate Saumitra Mohan said: “Engineers from the public works department are trying to get the road temporarily restored but it will take about a month to permanently repair the stretch.”

Source: The Telegraph

Earthquakes unlikely in Sikkim for next few years, says 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 earthquake 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.

Source: Hindustan Times

Living on the edge, dangerously

"And then the path vanished. Had it not been for the bright moonlight, we might have walked straight into a void. The rain had caused a landslide, and where there had been a narrow path there was now only a precipice of loose, slippery shale." -'The Glacier' by Ruskin Bond

Living on the edge is not just a figure of speech for people in the hills. Writer or tiller, they all live close to nature's bounty - and its boundless fury. And nowhere is the danger starker than in the Indian Himalayas, among the world's most earthquake-prone zones. Major parts, including Kashmir and the Northeast, fall in Zone V - the most seismically active. But the towns standing on these heaving hills seem oblivious of the risks as they build with a vengeance.

Quake-hit Gangtok is a clutter of concrete buildings, all of them hanging on precariously to steep mountain slopes. Most of them have developed ominous cracks after the September 18 quake. "Some of these buildings have to be evacuated immediately, and also the ones that are below them down the hill," an engineer inspecting the damage says.

Experts say that none of the buildings in the Sikkimese capital, which draws lakhs of tourists every year, are earthquake-resistant. Pankaj Adhikari, an architect in Gangtok, says the city doesn't have a proper building code, "and even the archaic one that does exist is flouted at will". Buildings with more floors than five-and-half storeys - the maximum allowed - are common and no action has ever been taken against such constructions, he fumes.

"The simple ABC of building codes for earthquake-prone regions is that all structures should resist minor to moderate earthquakes (3 to 5.9 on the Richter scale) undamaged; resist moderate to major (6 to 7.9) earthquakes without significant structural damage and survive severe earthquakes (8 or more) without collapse," Adhikari says. "But more than 90% buildings in Gangtok have suffered structural damage in Sunday's earthquake which was in the 'strong' category."

In the last 100 years, the Northeast has experienced hundreds of temblors of varying intensity - 210 between 5 and 5.9; 128 between 6 and 6.9; 15 between 7 and 7.9, and four of 8 or above magnitude. But, learning no lessons from the past, almost all the state capitals have turned into concrete jungles. Shillong is no exception. "People can no longer afford the luxury of spacious Assam-type buildings on sprawling compounds, and are forced to go for concrete constructions due to constraint of space," says an official in the Meghalaya capital's department of urban affairs. The state also has several unorganized coal mining projects. A major quake could spell disaster for these 'rat hole' mines and their workers.

Large dams add to the risk. As many as 168 dams are planned in Arunachal Pradesh alone to tap the state's 50,000MW hydro-power potential. Construction work is already on for the 2000MW Lower Subansiri Project, the country's biggest hydro-power dam. Several organizations have opposed such projects out of concern for Assam which is located downstream. An expert committee, comprising faculty from IIT Guwahati, Gauhati University and Dibrugarh University, in its report submitted to the Assam government in 2010 raised the issue of threat from the Lower Subansiri Project due to its location in the seismic zone.

Sunday's earthquake also shook the Darjeeling Hills. But worse is yet to come, warn experts. The fragile nature of the hills and their vulnerability to landslides compounds these fears. Kalimpong based Praful Rao, founder-member of Save the Hills (STH), an NGO working for raising awareness about landslides, says unplanned urban development is causing more landslides. "Deforestation and man-made drains in the mountains have further weakened the hills," he says.

Unchecked construction is another big concern. "Nowadays, more than five-storey buildings are being constructed here. There are over 400-500 such structures in the town area itself," says Bharat Prakash Rai, secretary of Fosep (Federation of Society for Environment Protection). He says the permissible height of 11.5m is being flouted. "Huge constructions are coming up at more than 60-degree slopes (twice the recommended limit)." Darjeeling Municipality engineer Vijay Tamang says they are now trying to control that.

The Dalai Lama's home, too, has seen unprecedented growth with a slew of hotels, monasteries and educational institutes coming up in the past decade. Dharamshala is the headquarters of Himachal's Kangra district which witnessed last century's biggest earthquake in 1905. The epicentre of that temblor, which killed 20,000 people, was near Mcleodganj, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. "Dharamshala lies in the Schuppen Zone in which closely spaced, mutually thrusted belts of various rocks lie delicately stuck over each other, making it one of the most dangerous areas. The soil and rocks in towns like Dharamshala are burdened under heavy construction and can give in at the slightest tremor," says Chandigarh-based geology professor A D Ahluwalia.

And what of Shimla, capital of Himachal? Almost the entire town, in Seismic Zone IV, could come crumbling down in the event of a major quake. The state's town and country planning minister, Mohinder Singh, recently told the Assembly that 98% of the buildings in Shimla were not safe. Less than 2% were earthquake-resistant, he said. Shimla is also a landslide-prone area and heavy construction pressure has started sinking the historic Ridge. "Should a disaster strike Shimla, it is bound to be of catastrophic proportions," says environmentalist Billy Malhans.

As for J&K, a legislation is in the works to make quake-resistant private buildings mandatory. This comes six years after parts of the state were flattened by a devastating earthquake. The state government had earlier issued guidelines that no government building shall be constructed unless it complies with Bureau of Indian Standards codes on quake resistance. Disaster management cell coordinator Aamir Ali says building bylaws have been amended "clause by clause" in consultation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's national seismic advisor Anand S Arya. The Bill is now awaiting an Assembly nod.

"We have trained masons, engineers, architects and structural engineers in earthquake risk management," says Ali. "We have also roped in imams to convey the message. That has helped a lot."

(With reports from Naresh Mitra, Guwahati; Manosh Das, Shillong; S Gopal Puri, Chandigarh; Ravinder Makhaik, Shimla, and Sameer Arshad, Delhi)

Source: Times of India

Special safety drive in Darjeeling for Pujas

Darjeeling: Police have embarked upon a special drive to keep the Hills trouble-free with the festive season slated to set in within a week.

"We have requested restaurants owners not to keep their establishments open after 10pm. The situation in the Hills is different from that of the plains where things start buzzing from late in the evening," said LT Bhutia, inspector in-charge of Darjeeling sadar police station.

The officer reasoned that during festivities, rowdy youths have the tendency to create trouble in an inebriated state. "Since tourists would be visiting the Hills during Durga Puja, we want to ensure that such incidents don't occur and sour the occasion," Bhutia said. Darjeeling police have already held a couple of meetings with hoteliers, restaurant owners and travel agents and raids are being conducted in illegal bars and restaurants.

Another factor that the police are wary of is the increased cases of robbery during the Pujas. "From past experience, we are aware robbers are already on the prowl. We appeal to the citizens to be cautious and careful during the festival," said the officer in-charge. He pointed out that robbers could target vulnerable citizens in banks and isolated places.

In fact, police are on a vigil and suspect that a woman in her early thirties is already at work. "There is a lady around 33-34 years old who we suspect is one of the gang members. We will be deploying additional policemen in plain clothes before and during the Puja," said Bhutia.

Police have decided to increase its manpower to put brakes on untoward incidents. Citizens have also been asked to call the helpline numbers 9775943303 and 9733173133 to seek assistance.

Source: Times of India

Army yet to reach earthquake ravaged areas of Sikkim

With a portion of a mountain caving in and several areas completely ravaged, the Army has said it will take some time to open the road from Tung up to Lanchen and Lachung in North Sikkim which bore the brunt of Sunday's devastating temblor. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake had cut off many parts of Northern Sikkim like Chuntham, Lachen, Lachung, upper Dzungu and the army in five days have been able to open nearly 40 km of the road though another 35 km need to be explored, official sources said on Sunday.

"Mangan (which is nearly 60 km from Gangtok) can be considered as the gateway to the quake-hit remote areas but the real problem starts from Tung up to Lanchen and Lachung – the two extreme points which are bifurcated from Chungtham", said an army officer of the engineering regiment, which is entrusted with the task of clearing the rubble and make a cab way.

"There is one way which leads from Gangtok to Mangan via Bittu where there were nearly 14 big landslides and in three days we have cleared the road and opened it for thoroughfare but the condition of the road from Tung to the extreme points is horrible and it will take long time before we can make the road open for the people," said the officer.

When asked why the operation was taking so long, the officer said, "Actually a portion of the mountain has caved in and several parts of the roads have been completely ravaged. Moreover, we are not able to carry out high intensity blasts because other portions of the mountain are in a brittle condition and might come down."

Source: Hindustan Times

Expedite Darjeeling civic election to facilitate development: GJM

Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leaders have demanded to speed up election to the four municipalities of Darjeeling to facilitate development work. GJM chief Bimal Gurung recently hinted at a public meeting that development works in the municipal areas has remained stalled for the last five years.

"Our party is serious about development in the Hills. Several development works have been hampered since election to the municipalities is still pending," said a senior GJM central committee leader.

The last election to the four municipalities was held in 2004. Then, the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) had formed the boards. However, GNLF chief Subash Ghisingh took forward the demand for including Darjeeling under the sixth schedule of the Indian constitution. This stopped election to the civic body and also to the panchayat system.

However, after GJM came to power in 2007 with the separate Gorkhaland state demand, most GNLF leaders and commissioners had defected to the GJM. Since then, the four municipalities at Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kalimpong and Mirik are run by a board of administrators headed by the sub-divisional officer.

"The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) will take time to be fully functional. In the meantime, development must also take place simultaneously," asserted the leader.

GJM though has not yet given its consent to holding election to the two tier panchayat system in place in the Hills. A demand has been made by the party to create several blocks from the existing ones for people's convenience. "Some of the blocks in the sub-divisions are vast in areas. We want the government to create at least 24 blocks from the existing ones so that development schemes and facilities reach the remotest of areas," reasoned the central committee leader.

GJM wants the existing eight blocks to be bifurcated into 24 blocks. The demand is that three blocks are created from one block. At present, it is time-consuming and cumbersome for people to get work - like issuance of birth and residential certificates and old age pension - done at a panchayat office that is situated several kilometer away, complained another GJM leader.. GJM's contention is that people waste one whole day at the office and are also not sure if the work will be done and secondly it feels officials of panchayat offices will be less burdened.

The Hills has only the gram panchayat and panchayat samaity. A zilla parishad runs the sub-division of Siliguri in Darjeeling district. However, in the GTA Bill there is provision for a three tier panchayat system as demanded by GJM.

Meanwhile, a six member GJM team including the three Hills MLAs and central committee leaders today left for Sikkim, to meet chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and express their sorrow over the earthquake devastation and deaths.

Source: Times of India

Earthquake damage in Darjeeling district assessed at Rupees 3400 crores

Preliminary reports of the Darjeeling District Administration pegged the damage caused by the 6.8 magnitude quake in the Darjeeling district in West Bengal at three thousand and four hundred crore Rupees. "We have made a preliminary assessment of the damages. It is to the tune of approximately and includes the assessment  by the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council of three thousand crore Rupees for the Darjeeling district", Saumitra Mohan, district magistrate Darjeeling told HT.

The damages include houses partially and fully damaged, roads, "Jhoras" (springs with embankments) and water supply lines.

"Around 2,802 houses are fully damaged and 52,900 houses partially damaged in the district", stated the Officer-in-charge of the Relief Department, Darjeeling.

Meanwhile the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) has also decided to send a Central Committee team to Sikkim in a day or two to meet chief minister Pawan Chamling. The GJM has also decided to conduct its own assessment of the damages caused by the quake in the three hill sub divisions of Darjeeling district.

"We will form a survey team to access the damage and hand over the report to the state government within a week. All GJM local committees will access the damages in their respective areas and report to this survey team based on which the report will be prepared", stated Bimal Gurung, President, GJM.

The survey team will include the 4 GJM MLAs. The GJM has demanded that a National Disaster Management unit should be stationed in the Darjeeling Hills at least during monsoons.

North Bengal Development minister Gautam Deb has requested the Siliguri Municipal Corporation not to sanction any plans for new constructions in the Siliguri Municipal areas.

"Building rules are not being followed. I will be meeting the Muncipal Affairs minister and request him that building rules are implemented stringently. Meanwhile we will be inviting a team of experts from IIT Roorkee so that they can advice us on future constructions and restoration work", stated Deb.

Source: Hindustan Times

Sikkim earthquake: Body count rises

MANGAN/GANGTOK: A grimmer picture of devastation in quake-hit Sikkim emerged on Tuesday as soldiers blasted boulders blocking hill roads and reached isolated areas like Mangan, 65km from Gangtok. With help reaching faraway regions, the body count from Sunday's temblor raced passed 130 and could rise as many more are feared trapped.

Officially, Sikkim has so far confirmed 58 deaths, the rest of the casualties being from Bhutan, Nepal, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand. But as shocking details emerged, authorities feared at least 40 workers at a hydel power plant site in North Sikkim's Saffo might have perished within minutes, caught in a mountain duct when the tectonic plates under the lower Himalayas shook. Dozens others are missing and feared trapped in the same hydel project site and there's no confirmation of the number of people engaged there.

Saffo is 9km downstream from Chungthang and the accident site is around 30km downstream from the popular tourist destination Lachen. An engineer working for the Hyderabad-based Athena Group, which is handling the project, said 15 workers had died at the site and at least 10 were missing. The tragedy came to light on Tuesday when officials of the Teesta Urja Co-a joint venture between the Hyderabad-based company and the Sikkim Power Department-chartered a chopper to airlift the body of D D Gupta, a senior officer.

Government sources said when they learnt of the airlift, they asked company officials where they had found Gupta's body. The officials were initially hesitant, but ultimately revealed the shocking story. Gupta, a quality control officer, had entered an access tunnel leading to the 1,200 MW Teesta Stage III Hydel Project site deep in the mountain recess.

When the temblor struck about 40 workers were drilling through the mountain to carry water from the dam at Chungthang, 100km from Gangtok, to the generation plant downstream at Mangan, Athena officials suspect. "It appears that some tunnels collapsed burying the men deep in the mountain," a government source said.

"It is unlikely that any of the workers survived the earthquake (that measured 6.8 on the Richter scale). And even if they did, it's doubtful that they'd hold out for very long. The area is mountainous and it will take days before tunnels are re-excavated and the bodies pulled out," a government official said.

Till late Tuesday afternoon, the company maintained that the construction site was intact and about eight people-six labourers and two junior engineers-had died when a boulder crushed their car near Saffo. But, now there are fears that Teesta Urja hasn't come out with the full disaster story. Several hundred workers are engaged at the construction site. A company official denied any tunnel had collapsed at Saffo.

Elsewhere, rescue teams inched close to the quake epicenter and columns of soldiers, riding trucks, tractors and earthmovers and armed with drills, cutters and pick-axes, completed an arduous trek to enter Mangan, the flattened headquarters of the North Sikkim district.

Mangan was a picture of devastation as many anxious and distraught residents waited as National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) personnel with Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Indian Army men toiled to clear debris from blocked roads. The army used explosives to blow up boulder piles, some as tall as three-story buildings. In Gangtok, Sikkim DGP Jasbir Singh said he feared the toll could go much higher. "Yes, large areas are still cut off. We fear the toll could rise."

At Mangan, brick and mortar churches had collapsed, giant boulders blocked roads and landslides had flattened entire localities. "On reaching Mangan, we realized the epicenter was 50km north, where villages and habitations have suffered the worst damage," an NDRF officer said. Rescue teams set off for the area but their progress was stopped by a fresh landslide.

Source: Times of India

Sikkim earthquake unusual according to geologists

The earthquake that rocked Sikkim on Sunday is unusual in terms of its magnitude and nature of origin, say leading geologists. "There is nothing surprising in this earthquake as the region north of Sikkim, which forms the outliers of Tibetan tectonics, is known for moderate earthquakes in
the past," C P Rajendran at the Indian Institute of Science here told IANS.

But what makes it different is its "unusually greater magnitude".

These earthquakes are different in the sense they are along the somewhat north-south structures trending transverse to the east-west Himalayan axis, Rajendran said. They are different from the usual Himalayan thrust earthquakes that are caused by the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate.

Vineet Gahaulat at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad said: "The (Sikkim) earthquake highlights the presence of the role of transverse features in the Himalayas."

"This 6.9 magnitude earthquake possibly occurred on a northwest-southeast trending almost vertical fault through strike slip motion."

"This is what we generally do not expect in the Himalayas," Gahaulat told IANS. "We expect large magnitude earthquakes on the detachment having thrust motion on gently dipping planes - like the 1999 Chamoli and 1991 Uttarkashi earthquakes."

Gahaulat said the role of transverse features in segmenting the Himalayan arc and accommodating some of the convergence of the India-Eurasia plates have been talked about earlier.

"But this one (Sikkim quake) makes it clearer as this is possibly the largest magnitude earthquake of this type in the Himalayas."

Gahaulat is also surprised at the fewer number of aftershocks - only two to three aftershocks of magnitude greater than 4.5. "So where are all the aftershocks gone? Are they yet to occur in the following days," he asked.

According to Gahaulat, "we need to be careful" if, in the coming days, the aftershocks occur southeast of the main shock epicentre - the way two aftershocks have occurred.

"The region where the main shock occurred has very low population density, but further southeast, population density is higher," he cautioned.

"The occurrence of this earthquake does not lower down the threat from the great earthquake which we expect in the Himalayas," the NGRI scientist warned.

The one (or more) which is expected will be a thrust type earthquake on the detachment which will be much more devastating than this one, he said.

"We need to treat each and every earthquake in a special way, you just need to turn it around and it will tell a somewhat different story."

Rajendran, however, does not think this particular event in Sikkim can be treated as a precursory signal to any major earthquake that may occur in future along the Himalayan arc.

"Having said that, the fact remains that some historically earthquake-deficient parts of the Himalayas has the potential to generate large earthquakes any time, irrespective of the present earthquake," he cautioned.

Source: Hindustan Times

Rahul Gandhi visits earthquake-hit areas of Sikkim

New Delhi: Three days after the devastating earthquake, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi was in Sikkim on Wednesday. Gandhi headed to affected areas across Gangtok to meet victims and their families.

He was scheduled to make a trip to Meghalaya on Wednesday for a public meeting of Youth Congress membership but changed his plan to include this visit.

Gandhi visited Gangtok on Wednesday morning before attending the scheduled Youth Congress meeting in Meghalaya.

His Youth Congress membership meeting is scheduled at 11:30 am at Mini Stadium, Ampathi in West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya.

The death toll in Sunday's powerful temblor has shot up to 82, 68 in India, including 53 in Sikkim, while more than 3,000 people have been rescued in quake-hit areas of Sikkim by defence forces so far.

With Additional Inputs from PTI

Sikkim Earthquake: Death toll rises

The death toll in the 6.9-earthquake that convulsed Sikkim last night crossed 70 this evening as Army columns and paramilitary personnel battled torrential rain, mist and landslides that cut off affected areas and stalled relief and rescue work.

North and East Sikkim are the worst affected, where major stretches remain disconnected from Gangtok. Even where diggers and heavy earth movers barrelled their way through, rescue teams had a trying time reaching out to those trapped in the rubble. Until late tonight, medical teams were trying to reach Mangan, the spot closest to the epicentre of the quake. This despite the fact that the road to Mangan was cleared by late afternoon. Elsewhere, boulders and debris mark what were once roads.

Sikkim alone accounted for 41 deaths, most of them in the North District and in towns and villages like Rangpo, Dikchu, Singtam and Chungthang located along the Teesta river, officials said.

Officials said that when the quake struck last evening, there were several vehicles on the Gangtok-Mangan route and many of these could have been “tossed off the road” or crushed under moving mountains of debris. “We have reports of several people missing but can only act on these once the road is restored,” said an official. As many as 22 people travelling in a bus are reported missing since last evening in north Sikkim.

As dusk descended over the hills today, marking 24 hours of the quake, panic returned to haunt residents. At Rongpo, an hour’s drive from Gangtok, the commercial hub was shut down and people were huddled under the cloud-covered sky. “There are fears that the quake may return tonight as well. We are not taking any chances and have come out in the open. How long we will be able to stand out we don’t know, but when we return to our homes, there is a strange feeling that’s overpowering many,” said a resident.

As many as 105 Army columns, with an estimated 5,000 personnel, have moved into the affected areas. Their primary objective is to restore road, telecom and power links. Colonel Om Prakash, an Army spokesman, said as many as 20 blockades had been cleared on National Highway 3, linking Siliguri to Gangtok. But airdropping operations had to be abandoned because of bad weather — about 2000 packets of dry food and matchboxes sat at Bagdogra airport. Electricity and telecom links were partially restored in Gangtok.

In the city’s outskirts, labourers from many project worksites have fled their posts and moved to Gangtok where several families have pitched tents in open spaces where they prepared to spend a second night.

Said Gopal Chhetri, Superintendent of a pharmacy college hostel, “Himalayan Home,” about 35 km from Gangtok: “I had a full house till yesterday with 280 student boarders. Today, I am left with just 60, many of them are trying to leave and go home.” These included Prasanta Sinha, a student form Bankura; Kamalendu Bagchi form Tripura and Dip, a second-year student. All stood by the highway trying to hitch a ride to Siliguri and home. Chhetri said: “As long as all the students don’t leave, I can’t. It’s a nightmare to live in rooms with all the walls cracked.” One of his students, Sandipan Banerjee, was killed when the roof caved in.

One of his cousins, Chiranjit Sinha, flew today to collect the body. On the flight here, he ran into West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who also left for Siliguri and Darjeeling today. She assured his family of all help.

At Singtam, the fire station is the new shelter. Vandana Chhetri, wife of D K Chhetri, a fire brigade havildar, is fighting the trauma. “It is terrible to stare at the cracks on the walls and ignore the fear,” said Vandana. Public address announcements urging people to be alert has added to the panic. A three-storied building behind the fire station collapsed yesterday injuring many.

In next door West Bengal, the death toll until late tonight was eight, most from Darjeeling where, according to preliminary estimates, as many as 70% of the buildings had developed cracks. The Rajbari in Darjeeling, a landmark, has developed wide cracks while the ceiling in two rooms of the District Magistrate’s office collapsed. Because it was a Sunday, there were no injuries. The Darjeeling Planter’s Club, yet another landmark in the city, was scarred with cracks.

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling toured the quake-hit areas in and around the capital town to assess damage. He announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased, Rs 50,000 for those

grievously injured and Rs 25,000 for those with minor injuries. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced Rs 2

lakh as ex-gratia to next of kin of those killed in the earthquake and Rs 1 lakh each for those seriously injured.

Source: Indian Express

Darjeeling takes stock post earthquake

Sikkim and the Darjeeling Hills took stock of the situation following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that shook Sikkim, Darjeeling and other parts of the country on Sunday. The death toll shot up to 4 in the Darjeeling district and 49 in Sikkim. Taking stock of the situation
Saumitra Mohan, District Magistrate (DM) stated that most of the old buildings of the Hills have developed cracks, in many cases walls have also caved in, roads have sunk, while landslides have been triggered off.

There have been reports of numerous landslides on the National Highway 31A to Sikkim and National Highway 55 connecting Darjeeling Hills with the plains of Siliguri. The NH31A remained closed throught the day owing to multiple landslides.

However, the Border Road Organization (BRO) managed to open up the highway for one way traffic in the evening.

In Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, electricity was restored on Monday along with telephone and cellular phone connectivity. There were no reports of any death from the Sikkim capital Gangtok.

However, North Sikkim remained the worst effected. Death toll reached 49 in Sikkim during the filing of this copy.

Most of the Government buildings, including the Sikkim state secretariat had developed cracks.

In the Darjeeling district one Pushpa Agarwal (Female, 34) had died from debris falling on her; Bhim Tamang of Gorubathan also became a victim of the quake, along with Vinod Agarwal of Siliguri who died from head injuries; Arjun Panchkotey a clerk at the Pankhabari High School died in a landslide in Longview tea Estate in the Kurseong sub division.

There was report of an old lady dying from a cardiac attack in Darjeeling after the quake.

The Block Development Officers (BDO) kept a close tab of the situation from ground zero. Many Government offices were effected by the earthquake.

The DM’s confidential office in Darjeeling, his residence along with the old secretariat building of the Darjeeling town developed serious cracks.

The treasury building at Kalimpong has been shifted to the town hall.

Deputy magistrate Namo Sherpa had had a miraculous escape. “I was in my chamber when the earthquake occurred. I went under the table. In seconds the debris from the ceiling including bricks and wooden planks began to fall all around me. I though I would not make it however I remained unhurt under the table” stated Shepa, talking to HT.

School buildings have been the worst effected. Most of the old schools including Loreto Convent, St. Teresa’s, Mount Hermon developed major cracks in the old school building.

 “Around 125 schools in the Darjeeling sub division alone has been effected” stated Binay Dewan, president, Janmukti Secondary Teacher’s Organisation (JSTO.) All hill schools remained closed on Monday.

One of the oldest landmarks of the town, Nripendra Narayan Bengali Hindu Hall was damaged with the old building developing cracks, a wall collapsing and the main dome of the temple also being damaged.

Though the Hill towns tried to limp back to normalcy, fear and anxiety loomed large. Many shops and shopping malls downed shutters on Monday.

“After the earthquake I’m not in a mood to sell despite this being the “Dasain” (Dushera- an important festival in the Hills) marketing season” stated Tenzin, a garment shop owner.

The Darjeeling Sadar Hospital had been the epicenter of panic following the earthquake on Sunday. Soon after the earthquake, patients helped by their relatives and friends rushed down to the ground floor in a near stampede like situation.

“There was no electricity and people people were grappling with each other to rush down the five floors. There was no electricity. Some were carrying the patients on their shoulders while others carried oxygen cylinders and drips being administered to the patients. There was utter chaos” stated Tika Sharma, a resident.

Many of the patients refused to stay back and left forcefully while the remaining bedded themselves on the floor of the ground floor and the entrance. “There were 274 patients in the hospital on Sunday. The number dropped to 146 after the quake in the evening. On Monday around 128 beds remained occupied at the Darjeeling District Hospital. The hospital is complete safe, the patients should return” stated Dawa Lama, president, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Darjeeling sub divisional committee.

Lebong army cantonment area in Darjeeling developed huge cracks with local residents taking shelter in army relief camps.

Source: Hindustan Times

Sikkim-Darjeeling Earthquake: Darjeeling cut off, panic in N Bengal

The West Bengal government has asked the Army to assist civil authorities, if needed, in relief and rescue work in Darjeeling and some other North Bengal districts affected by the massive quake that hit the region on Sunday evening.

Darjeeling remained cut off from the rest of the country as landslides blocked major roads and power lines snapped.

“I have talked to the army authorities here and requested them to provide help if necessary,” Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh said.

Four deaths were reported in the state, three in Darjeeling district and one in Jalpaiguri district, Ghosh said. Of the deaths in Darjeeling district, one each occurred in Kalimpong, Kurseong and Siliguri sub-divisions, he said.

“The epicentre of the quake is on the Sikkim-Nepal border and the intensity of the quake is 6.8 on the Richter scale,” said G C Debnath, director of Alipore Meterological Centre. He said aftershocks were felt in North Bengal at 6.11 pm.

Debnath said because of inclement weather and the quake, there could be landslides at some places in North Bengal.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people not to panic. “I have spoken to Chief Minister of Sikkim. I hope the situation will not be as bad in North Bengal,” she said.

The Chief Minister said assessment of the damage in North Bengal, particularly in the hills, was not possible before morning.

Banerjee said there have been damage in Darjeeling Hills “but hopefully not on the scale that has happened in Sikkim”.

She said efforts were on to restore power supply in the hill areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

“The Darjeeling district magistrate has already been asked to assess whether there has been any damage to any building or household in the hills,” Banerjee said, adding that necessary assistance will be provided in case of any damage.

“District Magistrates, SPs, city police commissioner and disaster management and power departments have been asked to remain alert. I am also monitoring the entire situation,” Banerjee said.

The chief minister also cautioned people to remain alert against the activities of anti-social elements. “Anti-socials always take advantage of difficult situation and exploit people. Keep your eyes open,” she said.

State Commerce and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee has left for Jalpaiguri. According to the Chief Minister, he and Gautam Deb, Minister for North Bengal Development, will jointly assess the situation.

Source: PTI