Aamir Khan in Sikkim

Aamir Khan was in Sikkim on Valentines Day. No, it wasnt a simple vacation that took him there. The actor has been shooting the theme song for his forthcoming TV show across the country and thats also the reason that took him to Sikkim.

Accompanying Aamir on the shoot is one of the countrys most reputed admen, Ram Madhvani.

For those not in the know, Ram won a bronze and a silver lion at Cannes in 2006 for a commercial. His debut feature film, 'Lets Talk', premiered at the Locarno Film Festival.

Ram is directing the theme song for the TV show though its still not clear as to who will be directing it. Says a source, "Shooting for the video of the theme song began in Srinagar.Then, the unit went to Delhi and subsequently, they went to Jodhpur. The next stop was Gangtok. On Thursday morning, Aamir is supposed to leave for Vadodara which is the last destination for the shoot. Ram will be returning to Mumbai on February 21."

"On Tuesday morning, Aamir went to Gangtoks Rumtek. On Wednesday, Aamir visited various locations in and around Gangtok," the source adds.

Music for this programme, which is being described as a bold non-fiction show that has never been attempted before on Indian television, has been composed by Ram Sampath who has previously worked with Aamir in 'Delhi Belly'.

"Ram has composed the theme song that is now being shot. Shooting for the programme had begun on the sets in Mumbai. But a fire broke out. Thankfully, no one was injured.Things are back on track now and shooting is supposed to resume soon," says the source.

Meanwhile, there was a buzz that Aamir had gone for a short visit to north Bengal as well during his Sikkim tour.

Says Dr Saumitra Mohan, the district magistrate and collector of Darjeeling, "I too have heard that Aamir Khan is supposed to come to Darjeeeling. But I dont have any official intimation on that. We are trying to promote Darjeeling as a shooting destination and would love to welcome him if he wants to shoot here. Incidentally, we have conceived a directors meet in Darjeeling. Filmmakers from Tollywood and Bollywood will be invited to come down for this event.The dates for this meet hasnt been finalized as yet."

Source: Times of India

Sikkim send 20 lakh tour revival emails and invites honeymooners and corporate houses

Gangtok, Sikkim: Travel agents in Sikkim have sent over 20 lakh email invitations to the snow festival to newly wed couples, corporate offices and tour operators across India and Southeast Asia.

The publicity blitzkrieg started on January 5 and the target is around 1 crore emails.

The Sikkim Snow and Cultural Festival will be held from February 14 to 29 as part of a mission to regain the state’s image as a favoured tourist destination. Tourism in Sikkim suffered a jolt after the earthquake on September 18.

“Eight computer operators are sending around 70,000 e-brochures of the snow festival daily from our office. We are targeting honeymooners, the corporate sector, tour operators and associations of different professions to send the emails,” said Sonam Norgay Lachungpa, the general secretary of the Travel Agents’ Association of Sikkim (TAAS).

The festival will be organised by the association with the full backing of the Sikkim government. Snow line tours in areas above 8,000ft such as Lachen, Lachung, Gurudongmar Lake (all in north Sikkim), and Chhangu lake and Nathu-la (in East district) will be conducted as part of the fest.

Also on offer are bird and butterfly watching excursions to Dzongu in North Sikkim, Maintam wildlife sanctuary in South district and Pelling in West.

Lachungpa said the email had a link to the home page of sikkimsnowfest.com that detailed every activity of the event.

“We have tied up with a matrimonial website to get the email addresses of newly married couples and are sending them links to our website. The response is very encouraging as we are getting lots of enquires and feedback from potential tourists. Some of our members have already received bookings for the festival,” said Lachungpa.

The president of the association, Lukendra Rasaily, said the organisers wanted to send 1 crore emails by the time the festival kicked off.

Adventure sports like mountain biking, trekking, camping, paragliding and kayaking have also been planned across the state as part of the festival. Entertainment programmes like culture shows, food festivals, yak rides and fashion shows have been lined up to woo all kinds of tourists to the state.

The association is using an email extractor software to get the email addresses of the targeted sector in India and Southeast Asia. “Once the addresses are extracted, our computer operators start sending the emails to all. Our website is getting thousand hits every day,” said TAAS software consultant Jayant Das.

Apart from the email blitzkrieg, the association will also send text messages to about 1 lakh tour agents across the country to promote the festival. “Such kind of mass tourism promotional activity through emails and text messages is being conducted for the first time in the country. Everything is possible because of the teamwork of the travel agents and the support we are getting from the Sikkim government,” said the association president.

Source: The Telegraph

New beginning after quake & Puja - North inaccessible

Gangtok, Oct. 9: Parts of North Sikkim still continue to be inaccessible though the administration and schools, crippled since the September 18 earthquake, are expected to function normally from tomorrow.

Temporary arrangements have been made so that 779 government schools with their 1.18 lakh students can start functioning. “Classes will start from tomorrow. Whatever temporary arrangements were to be done, has been done,” said HRD secretary C.S. Rao over the phone from Ravangla in South Sikkim. Construction of temporary structures on campuses, hiring buildings near schools for classes and introducing shifts in schools with low enrolments are some of the options that have been worked out.

Sikkim government spokesperson K.S. Topgay said aerial sorties to evacuate people stranded in North Sikkim and air-dropping of relief continued during the Puja break by the army choppers and the civilian Pawan Hans helicopters. Chungthang, Lachen and Lachung still remain cut off from Mangan because of landslides along the North Sikkim highway. Mangan is the administrative headquarters of the North district, 30km from Chungthang.

Apart from multiple landslides, a 400 metre stretch of the highway had been washed away between Toong and Theeng near Chungthang.

“We have managed to cut inside the rocky hillside to create a new road up to 350 metres. Now only 50 metres is left to be created,” said AK Das, the joint director of the Border Roads Organisation’s Project Swastik. “The spot is on a steep incline. Even the rock of the hillside is hard to break,” said Das.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who visited Sikkim on September 29 had directed the BRO to restore the North Sikkim highway to Chungthang by October 15. The highway is important as it is the sole link to the army and ITBP bases on the China border.

“All our resources and manpower have been concentrated at this point and the BRO is committed to open the road as soon as possible,” said Das.

Nearly Rs 16,000 crore has been released by the state government as ex-gratia for the 21,659 pucca and kutcha houses damaged in East Sikkim. This amount is in addition to the Rs 1.2 crore distributed earlier.

The ex-gratia ranges from Rs 3,000 to Rs 50,000, depending on the intensity of the damage and the type of house.

“We appeal to those, whose damaged houses have not be been recorded so far, to come to us by October 15. Our officials will survey these houses and we will release ex-gratia for the genuine claims. We don't want to leave out any genuine cases,” said district collector D. Anandan. Around 100 claims from owners of damaged houses were received at the district control room during the Puja break.

The claims should be reported to the administrative centre in Sichey, Gangtok, where the district authorities will resume work from tomorrow. Anandan has been camping at the district control room at MG Marg since the earthquake.

“We will be shifting to the district administrative centre from Monday and resume our normal functions along with relief work related with the earthquake,” said the district collector.

According to officials of North Sikkim, 3,361 houses have suffered major and minor damage in the Mangan subdivision including Dzongu. Assessment of the damage is in progress at Lachung, Lachen and Chungthang.

Source: The Telegraph

Nathula Pass now open for trade after Sikkim Earthquake

CHANGU (SIKKIM): Nathula Pass, one of the three trading border posts between China and India, has been reopened for traffic after being hit by a recent earthquake that jolted India, Nepal and Tibet.

Locals expressed their delight over the reopening of the pass and said they were thankful to the army personnel for providing them with food and medical treatment, after the earthquake ravaged the region.

"The road has been reopened, the public is relaxed as we are now getting the basic facilities and food. All the efforts have been made by the army, the army personnel provided us with food, water, medical treatment," said Phurba Sherpa, a local. "As the pass has reopened, now our major priority is arrival of tourists. With the arrival of tourists, we would be able to retrieve our lives," Sherpa added.

Source: India Times

Highway to Nathu-la cleared - villagers keen on tourists before lean season sets in

Gangtok: The Jawaharlal Nehru Marg has been restored for traffic, allowing the army and people from the half a dozen villages that dot the route to Nathu-la to come down here to replenish their supplies — more than 10 days after the earthquake cut off the road link.

However, the Sikkim government is yet to take a call on whether to allow visitors at Chhangu Lake, Baba Mandir and the international border — tourist destinations in East district. Trade with the Tibetan Autonomous Region through Nathu-la or the border pass at 14,400ft has also stopped since the September 18 earthquake.

The army had set up relief camps at Kyongnosla and Chhangu where the villagers had been provided with food, shelter and medical attention for all these days.

Twenty-two landslides, minor and major, and the huge boulders brought down by them had blocked 52km of JN Marg. Three stretches of the road had been washed away in the rain.

Project Swastik, which looks after the highway connectivity in Sikkim, engaged seven hydraulic excavators, two bulldozers and four air-compressors (to power the drilling machines) and more than 50 labourers to clear the debris. They also rebuilt the roads at three points and finally JN Marg opened yesterday afternoon.

One of the points is a 55-metre stretch at Km 22.1 that had been peeled off along with a 70m portion of the hillside. Similar breaches of shorter length occurred at two more points on the way to nearest settlement at Kyongnosla, 25km before Nathu-la.

“We had managed to crush and sweep away boulders by September 23 to reach these road breaches. The breach at Km 22.1 was most severe and we used two excavators and two air-compressors from both ends to cut inside the hill and create a new road. By 1pm yesterday, JN Marg was ready,” said Sachin Kumar, the officer in charge of 422 road maintenance platoon of Project Swastik.

The restoration work had been hampered by inclement weather in the first few days after the quake and fog, which descends in high-altitude areas (ranging from Gangtok at 5500ft to Nathu-la) almost every afternoon. Along with early dusk, working hours were restricted to five-six hours in a challenging terrain.

“We had to cope with the weather and also fresh slides. To keep the machines working, we deployed a team from the mechanical workshop that we have in Gangtok. They were stationed along this stretch with spare parts so that the heavy machines could be repaired on the spot,” said Kumar.

The BRO personnel had to keep a constant eye on the hills as loose boulders could slip down any time, crushing the workers below.

“We had watchers on both sides and they used to blow whistles if any boulder was about to slip down,” said BRO junior engineer Ravindar Kumar.

The BRO personnel, already deployed along the JN Marg for road widening, were among the first to come to rescue after the tremor. Landslide had hit a local taxi near Kyongnosla, killing two people on the spot on the evening of September 18.

“We called the local people for help and managed to reach the damaged vehicle. There were two people dead inside. We recovered five injured persons and took them to the nearby army hospital for treatment. We cleared the landslide the next day,” said junior engineer V. John Wilson.

There was light movement of army and civilian vehicles along JN Marg today. Most of the civilians were from the sparse settlements in the border area and were on their way to Gangtok to replenish stocks.

“We have communicated to the civil administration that the JN Marg is open for traffic. The decision to allow tourists to ply on this route lies with the government,” said the officer in charge of the 422 road maintenance platoon.

Villages along this route, especially Kyongnosla (at 10,400 ft) and Chhangu Lake (at 12,400ft and 34km from Gangtok) which depend on tourism for livelihood, were prompt to demand that tourists be allowed on JN Marg.

“Our earnings have been hit so far because of the road blockades.. Tourists are our major source of livelihood. We want them back,” said Phurba Tshering Sherpa, a resident of Kyongnosla.

There are around 18 shops at Kyongnosla, where tourists take a break on their way to Nathu-la. Six of the shops, which sell snacks and souvenirs, have suffered extensive damage. Four have been washed away.

“We appeal to the tourists to visit Sikkim. The road to Chhangu Lake and Nathu-la is open and even if they are stranded while returning, we are ready to take care of them as we had done in past,” said Phurba Tshering .

Liku Doma, whose shop has been damaged, said if the tourists don’t come, “we will all suffer”.

Eight kilometres above Kyongnosla, the 49 shops below Chhangu Lake sport a deserted look. Only two shops are open. The lake is a popular tourist destination with 250-300 taxis making it here daily during the peak seasons.

Around 20 vehicles full of tourists come here even during the off-season.

April-May is the first peak season followed by October to early November.

“All the shops are closed here as no tourists have come. Most of our people have gone to Gangtok today to buy essential commodities now that the road is open. Tourists should be allowed to come here as the livelihood of some 200 families depends on them. They eat and shop. The local people also earn money by offering yak rides to tourists around the lake. We have around 50 yaks,” said K. Sherpa, who lives in one of the villages near the lake.

There was no damage in the Chhangu villages.

“If no tourists come this October, we will have to wait till next April,” said K. Sherpa.

Government spokesperson K.S .Topgay said the decision on allowing tourists up to Nathu-la would be taken tomorrow.

Source: The Telegraph

No classes till Oct 10 for Sikkim Schools

Gangtok, Sept. 26: All schools across Sikkim will reopen on October 10 after Puja (or Dasain) vacation, the government has announced after taking stock of the widespread damage that educational institutions suffered in last Sunday’s quake.

Classes in the 779 government schools and some of the 325 private institutions had been suspended since September 19. But some unsuccessful attempts in the past few days to resume classes in alternative rooms and a gloomy weather prompted the government today to officially announce a break till October 1, when the Puja holidays start.

“All government schools are closed till October 1. They will reopen on October 10 after the Puja holidays. We had tried for a couple of days to resume classes but could not do it as the schools were not in good condition and weather continues to remain bad. We don’t want to take any chances,” said state human resource development secretary C.S. Rao.

Rao said the schools would have to take extra classes in winter to make up for the loss. “Earlier it was scheduled that the schools would close on December 17 for winter break but now it will close only on December 22,” he said. “We have also conveyed our decision to the private schools but if some of them want to continue with the classes, we have no objection,” Rao said.

He said there were around 1.18 lakh students in the government schools and 24,000 in the 325 private institutions. Nearly 430 government schools have suffered major damage. Of them, 54 schools have totally or partially collapsed, according to a preliminary report collected by the department.

“The school heads will be available during this break to consult with the local panchayats and school managing committees to make alternative arrangement so that classes can start from October 10,” said Rao.

The chief minister has given Rs 50 lakh as immediate relief for restoration of the school buildings, he said.

Source: The Telegraph

PM to visit Sikkim Earthquake affected zones

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 East District Adm orders dismantling of 11 multi-storeyed buildings

Gangtok, Sept. 27: The East district administration has issued dismantling orders to 11 multi-storeyed buildings in Gangtok and Singtam as the damaged structures have become a threat to adjoining houses.

Six of these buildings, with five or more floors, will have to be demolished fully. In the other buildings, only the vulnerable floors will be dismantled.

Although Gangtok has a height restriction of five storeys because it is located in a vulnerable seismic zone, civic norms are often flouted.

Notices under Section 144 of the CrPc — under which evacuation orders can be given — have been issued to owners of the 11 buildings in the past couple of days by the district administration, an official said. Three of these buildings are in Singtam, 35km from Gangtok, and the others in the state capital itself.

Three more buildings have been recommended to the state government for partial demolition by an assessment team.

The team has also recommended that the already collapsed building at Baluwakhani in Gangtok, belonging to Bhaichung Bhutia’s mentor and state sports secretary Karma P. Bhutia, needs to be dismantled and the debris cleared. The five-storeyed house collapsed when an adjoining six-storey structure tilted and fell on it on Friday night.

A team consisting of officials from the urban development and mines and geology departments and researchers from IIT-Roorkee conducted a survey of 406 buildings in and around Gangtok and Singtam yesterday.

“Six buildings are to be totally demolished while the floors of the remaining five need to be dismantled,” said Sikkim government spokesperson K.S. Topgay. The assessment is that around 70 buildings need to be evacuated but some of these can be strengthened with retro-fittings (or iron bars), he said.

“Demolition orders were issued as the team felt that these buildings were posing danger to other buildings and residents. The owners have to demolish the buildings within three days on the receipt of the order on their own expenses. If not, the government will be demolishing the buildings and costs will recovered from the owners,” said an official.

The government had announced that Rs 50,000 would be given for major damage. For minor damage and cracks, the compensation would range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 depending on the nature of the house.

Sources said a demolition squad from New Delhi would be reaching Gangtok today. The owners of the seven-storeyed Hotel Superview Himalchuli, one of the buildings to be totally demolished, have appealed to the state government to give them time to bring in experts so that options can be explored to save the building.

“Instead of going straight for demolition, we request the state government to give us some time to explore options to find out if the hotel can be saved. The government has to help the people. We have contacted experts in Calcutta who are specialists in restoring damaged structures. We want to use the available technology of retrofitting or column shifting. Such action has saved some buildings in Gangtok, which had been ordered demolition during the 2006 earthquake,” said Satish Bardewa, son of S.K. Bardewa who owns the hotel.

The hotel has some 30 rooms. When it suffered cracks during the September 18 quake, all its occupants were evacuated. The hotel is closed now.

Satish said the demolition cost alone would run up to more than Rs 20 lakh considering that the building has to be pulled down first by hired labourers and then the debris transported for dumping outside Gangtok. “Constructing another building from scratch is another big issue,” said Satish.

The owners of a damaged five-storeyed building at Tadong near Sikkim Government College, however, have already hired labourers to demolish it. The building, constructed during the early 80s, had been damaged by the quake is also among the six that has to be totally pulled down.

“Considering the damage to the building, we are already prepared to demolish it. Once the order was given to us a couple of days ago, we brought workers to demolish it. The shopkeepers and tenants of this building have moved out along with the owner and family members,” said Robin Gurung who is supervising the demolition.

The top two floors are now being demolished.

“We are not asking for any any help from the government at this time. We are more concerned about the danger the building possesses to other adjoining structures. First we want to remove this threat and later on, if the government gives us aid, then it’s ok,” said Gurung.

The building had tilted dangerously close to a three-storeyed building of businessman Raj Kumar Prasad. “We were scared. Now we can breathe in relief as some demolition has taken place reducing the weight on our building,” he said.

According to East district collector D Anandan, more than 900 houses in the district have collapsed and more than 5,000 houses suffered major damage. More than 10,000 houses have suffered minor damages in East district, he said.

The district authorities are touring the affected areas and preparing a list of damaged houses to provide compensation as announced by the state government.

Source: The Telegraph

Sikkim road link snaps for six hours Evacuation continues, army drops food ration

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 Sikkim 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.

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

Sikkim earthquake: 10,000 food packets airdropped, more roads opened

With most of the roads opening for regular traffic in the quake-hit Sikkim, the ongoing relief works got a boost on Friday. More Army, ITBP and NDRF personnel could reach interiors and bring villagers to relief camps.

Two major roads connecting the region, however, remained blocked due to landslides.

Over 10,000 food packets were airdropped in these areas. "Fifteen helicopters of Army and Air Force have been pressed into relief work. For airdropping and reconnaissance, 150 sorties have been carried out so far," an official said.

While nine vital roads, including National Highway 31A and National Highway 55, have been opened for traffic, two roads -- Chungthang-Lachen and Chungthan-Lachung -- continued to remain blocked due to landslides.

Referring to reports from the Sikkim government, the official here said the total number of deaths was 75 with maximum 57 being reported from North district.

"Five teams of NDRF have been deployed for search and rescue operations at Shipgyar, Biha and Bringbang Ramam, Lingzya and Dzongu villages in Mangan. Two teams of NDRF comprising 14 personnel and 16 personnel each are deployed at Chungthan and Lachung, respectively", said the official.

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 toll 72, labourers feared trapped in tunnels

Vijay Kumar, a businessman from Mysore, was looking forward to a pleasant vacation. The day the 6.8 richter earthquake shook Sikkim, Kumar had just arrived in Lachung in north Sikkim. "On Sunday, we had just reached and after a cup of tea we went out for a walk when the earth shook. The next minute the road vanished," said Kumar, whose wife and friend, Sanjay Kumar, were also trapped with him.

Sanjay, a Mysore-based jeweller, was hit in his leg by a rock. "After spending some time out in the open, we came back to the hotel, considering it a safer option. The army and local residents were extremely helpful. The locals shared their food with us, despite shortage," he said.

After 72 hours of complete isolation from the outside world, Vijay Kumar and 74 other tourists, including four foreigners - 2 Norwegians and 2 US nationals - finally heaved a sigh of relief on Wednesday.

The same day chief minister of Sikkim Pawan Chamling admitted that nine villages in north Sikkim were still inaccessible and it would take about a month to restore complete connectivity.

Sikkim's information and public relations secretary Karma Soman Tobgey said rescue operations would resume on Thursday. "Dzongo village, which is totally cut off, might have some stranded tourists," he added.

Meanwhile, the death toll due to landslides in Sikkim reached 72. It is feared that labourers from others states working in hydel projects in north Sikkim are trapped inside tunnels.

Ahmed Sayed Lasker a junior engineer with the Teesta Urja Hydel project at Ramam, 130 km from Gangtok, said, "The tunnels are safe and hundreds of workers who had taken shelter in the tunnels have already reached safer places." But he was unable to confirm whether all workers had been rescued.

AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi visited Lungsey on the outskirts of the state headquarters Mangan amidst tight security.

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

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

Sikkim earthquake: Two dead in Darjeeling

The Sikkim earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale on Sunday claimed two lives in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal along with 2 in Sikkim, 2 in Bihar and 5 in Nepal. With cell phone and landline services coming to a standstill in the entire Hills and adjoining areas,
communication became a next to impossible task. People spent hours trying frantically to contact their near and dear ones. The Hills were plunged into darkness with electricity being cut off.

Saumitra Mohan, District Magistrate, Darjeeling talking to HT stated " There are reports of one Pushpa Agarwal losing her life in Kalimpong with debris falling on her from a building under construction. There are reports of many areas having sunk, roads and walls having caved in and cracks in buildings. We are trying to access the situation."

Unconfirmed reports stated that one Arjun Bishwakarma had lost his life from a rock having crashed upon him in Doodhey under the Kurseong sub division. There were reports of people suffering minor injuries mostly caused by stampedes during the earthquake (trying to rush out of the buildings.) In many buildings in the town glass panes were shattered, crockery tumbled out from the kitchen shelves. People preferred to remain outdoors, the fear of aftershocks emerging more prominent that the constant rains.

"In all my life I have never witnessed such fear. I had run out of my house but could not find an empty space nearby where I would be safe"stated Pema, resident of one of high rises in town.

With unplanned urbanization and with the mushrooming of high rises in the Hills, the day's earthquake was just an indication of the destruction that could be caused in case of such calamities in near future.

Darjeeling has a long seismic history and lies in the 4th Seismic zone. Major (Retd.) KPMalla, Former Secretary of the Red Cross Society, Darjeeling having survived one of the worst earthquakes of this region, as a primary school student, reminisced that on the 14th January 1934 there was a heavy earthquake measuring around 7 on the Richter scale
"Ï was a student at the Selimbong Primary School. The school collapsed. It felt as if the ground below my feet had turned into liquid and was sinking. There was utter chaos as people saw death staring at their faces"stated Malla. The earthquake had left around 100 people dead and many injured with the large constructions like the Governor House and the Burdwan Maharaja's palace damaged.

However during that time there were no high rises, most of the houses were single storied and wooden construction with no electricity. The population was also very thin. The next major earthquake was in 1988. Though no loss of life was reported there was large-scale damage to constructions.

"Now an earthquake of around 7 is enough to wipe us all out.  There is no open space in Darjeeling town with huge constructions and narrow roads. We don't even have the infrastructure like mobile electrical machines to remove the debris after an earthquake or other safety measures to save us. Even heavy machinery cannot be brought in through the narrow mountain road"said Malla.

The last earthquake that the Darjeeling Hills and Sikkim had felt had occurred on June 3, 2011 measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale.

Fear loomed large. "There are many patients who have left the Darjeeling Sadar Hospital out of fear"stated Dr. S Bhowmik, Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH), Darjeeling.

Electricity was restored to different parts of the Hills at around 10.20 pm with cell phone and landline services still remaining largely elusive.

Source: Hindustan Times

18 dead in Sikkim and Darjeeling earthquake; 200 rescued, many trapped

18 people lost their lives as a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit sikkim on Sunday evening. The death toll is at 18 which includes 7 in Sikkim, 4 in West Bengal 2 in Bihar and 5 in Nepal.

The armed forces have deployed teams for relief and rescue activity, the centre is also sending emergency teams in. But heavy rains, intermittent power cut, and loss of mobile phone connectivity did hamper rescue operations in the initial hours.

At 6.10 pm on Sunday evening, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Sikkim. Mangan, 54 km from Gangtok, was the epicentre of that quake that left a trail of death and massive damages in its wake. It was not just Sikkim that was shaken, the tremors were felt in Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, North East and Nepal.

The quake has cut off Sikkim. Mobile connectivity has been hit. The national highway is closed after heavy rains followed by landslides and there are reports of people being trapped. The Army has already reached out to the afftected.

The Centre has rushed in teams of the National Disaster Response Force. They have been flown in from Delhi and Kolkata till Bagdora from where they proceed by road. But the bad weather and landslides are posing huge challenges.

The quake has given a rude jolt to Sikkim, Darjeeling and many parts of northern and eastern India. Several homes and properties have been damaged but a clearer picture of the extent of damages is yet to come out.

Rescue operations underway

Rescue operations began within hours of the quake striking. Army columns in small teams have been deployed across Sikkim to provide humanitarian assistance. These columns comprise medical teams with first aid kits as well as engineers. 400 personnel from the National Disaster Relief Force have reached Bagdogra from where they will move by road.

30 columns from the 33 Cors in Siliguri are also engaged in rescue activity. Bihar is sending 160 personnel in. The BSF rescue team and the dog squad are there too. The DGP of Sikkim who was in Delhi when the disaster occured will set out for Gangtok on Monday.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel rescued 200 civilians including 22 tourists, they've taken refuge at the Pegong camp. An IAF team carrying supplies is on its way.

Bihar, Gujarat offer assistance

States like Bihar and Bengal are also sending rescue teams to Sikkim. Others too have offered assistance.

"When the earthquake happened I too felt the termor. Our departments are on the job, we are gathering information," said Bihar Chief Minis Nitish Kumar.

"On behalf of the people of Gujarat I convey my condolences. Such a situation demands cooperation from all. The Gujarat government is ready to extend support to all those who have been affected," said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Source: IBN Live

Seven dead as 6.9 magnitude quake rocks hits Sikkim and Darjeeling

Seven people were killed today after an earthquake of intensity measuring 6.9 on Richter Scale hit Sikkim and the northern and eastern India as well as Nepal, reports said.

The earthquake claimed one life at Singtham in East Sikkim district, while another died just outside Singtham, state chief secretary Karma Gyatso said. 33 others received minor injuries in Sikkim. A man in Bhagalpur district died in a stampede after the quake shook parts of Bihar. While, five people in Nepal are reported to be dead.

The epicentre of the quake was located at Latitude 27.7 degree North and Longitude 88.2 degree East, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Several buildings developed major cracks in Sikkim, state chief secretary Karma Gyatso said.

Disaster Management personnel were deployed in affected areas, he added.

Immediately after getting the report, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Sikkim chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and offered him all necessary help.

With the quake felt in Assam, parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Prime Minister directed the Cabinet Secretary to call an emergency meeting of the disaster management authority.

The quake which was felt for some seconds around 6.10 pm triggered panic among the people who were enjoying their Sunday evening.

There was however no immediate report on any casualty or damage to property.

In the national capital, the tremor was felt in certain parts -- the second such experience within a fortnight after Delhiites were jolted around midnight on September 7.

Delhi's suburb Gurgaon and some other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) experienced very mild tremor.

The quake was also felt in various parts of Bihar, a Patna report said. As buildings shook, people rushed out to open places.

A report from Darbhanga district in north Bihar said the quake was felt there too. The tremor was also felt in Madhubani, Samastipur, Nawada, Munger and other districts.

Neighbouring Jharkhand also felt the shock, according to a Ranchi report.

"We saw computers, chairs and tables rattling in our office," said Manu Singh and Binod Singh, who were among those who rushed out in the open.

People in Sahebganj and Giridih also experienced the tremor.

In the north, besides the national capital, the tremors were felt in Jaipur and nearby areas of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Panic gripped people in Lucknow and some other places in Uttar Pradesh  where the quake was also felt. The tremors were felt in Mau, Azamgarh, Deoria, Ballia and other towns. The earthquake was also experienced in parts of Haryana and Chandigarh where the intensity was mild.

A Bhopal report said reports of tremors were received from Gwalior, Bhopal, Hoshangabad and other parts of Madhya Pradesh.

Source: Hindustan Times