AI enhanced and restored photos of October 1968 Disaster in the Darjeeling-Sikkkim Himalaya

I was a 17yrs old college student when the October 1968 disaster struck the Darjeeling–Sikkim Himalaya — 57 years ago now. About a week after 04Oct1968, my cousin, a friend, and I walked down to Teesta Bazar, where I took some photographs with my father’s Zeiss Ikon bellows medium-format camera. 
Those photos, badly damaged over time, had long been missing until recently, when I stumbled upon them while rummaging through some old prints. 
While using AI to enhance/restore the photos, I instructed the AI programs (Gemini's Nano Banana and ChatGPT)  'NOT TO MAKE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE PHOTOS' and I have scrutinized the 4 photos to see that the details of the original are enhanced and preserved, not changed.

                                                    The original 57yr old photo👆

The restored image of the Andersen bridge. It was brought down by the Teesta river during the 1968 flood. The blurry figures standing on the bridge are my cousin and a friend.

The original 57yr old image👆

The restored image of the Teesta bazaar from the opposite bank. This area sustained a huge amount of damage including a petrol pump and all the equipment which were swept away by the rampaging Teesta. The remains of the Andersen bridge are still visible today.

                                                The original 57yr old image👆

The restored image which is still quite bad - but you can make out some damaged homes and a lot of scars which are landslides... this area is where Krishnagram now stands in Teesta bazaar.

                                            The original 57yr old image👆

The restored image of the Teesta bazaar is where the community hall and the haat bazaar stands today. You can distinctly see the road going up to Darjeeling and Peshoke in the upper right.

Please note: the captions which I wrote on the first 3 photographs 57years ago are reproduced unaltered in the AI images.

Praful Rao
savethehills@gmail.com

9475033744

An event of Note : The 7th World Landslide Forum, to be hosted by India in November 2026.

Photo of a landslide from the first post in this blog of Sep2007 when SaveTheHills was formed.

SaveTheHills was formed in September 2007 in the aftermath of intense rainfall that struck North Bengal and Sikkim in the first week of that month. The resulting deluge triggered widespread landslides and devastation. We began documenting these events through the STH blog to build a lasting historical record of a recurring hazard that continues to trouble the region year after year.

Nearly two decades on, landslides remain at the core of our work and concern. It is therefore heartening news that the 7th World Landslide Forum (WLF7) will be hosted in Faridabad, India, under the auspices of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham from 23–27Nov2026.

In this connection, while attending the first virtual TOWNHALL for WLF7 on 19Apr2026 (see below), we hope to participate in and learn from the forum in Nov2026.

Praful Rao
SaveTheHills
savethehills@gmail.com
9475033744

SaveTheHills photo exhibit on 'The Teesta Valley GLOF disaster - the unheard voices' renewed till April2028 (by Social Documentary Network).

Exactly a year ago, I published a report on the Social Documentary Network (SDN) titled “Teesta Valley GLOF Disaster – The Unheard Voices.”

For those unfamiliar, SDN is a ‘global platform for documentary photographers and visual storytellers, with a strong focus on social, environmental, and human-rights issues, featuring the work of around 3,000 photographers worldwide’ (ChatGPT).

A few days ago, I was notified by SDN that the GLOF exhibit was due for renewal, which involved a fee in US dollars. However, there was also an option to apply for a fee waiver. I’m happy to share that considering our work, SDN has graciously waived the renewal fee until Apr2028.

This means our Teesta Valley GLOF exhibit will continue to remain accessible on a respected international photojournalism platform. I have also updated and refined the exhibit, and it is now available to view here.

I would urge you to take a look and share it further. The disaster remains largely unknown beyond the region, and greater awareness is essential so that the scale of the tragedy—and its continuing impact—is not forgotten.

Praful Rao,
savethehills@gmail.com
9475033744