Why we should tread softly in the Himalayas...Pakyong, Sikkim, Nov2017

While the sinking of Joshimath, in large part due to human activities has caught the attention of the nation, I was witness to a similar event in another Himalayan state,ie Sikkim caused by anthropogenic activity which has now been largely forgotten.

Pakyong airport, 30 km from Gangtok at an elevation 4590ft (1399m)was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24Sept 2018. It was constructed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of Rs 605 crore and was touted be an "engineering marvel" for its soil reinforcement and slope stabilization techniques keeping in view the altitude it was built at. 

After inauguration, only Spicejet operated a Bombardier Q -400 on the Kolkata -Pakyong route and under Visual Flight Rules since there no navigational aids or radar at the airport which will permit IFR flight.

Building the airport caused severe distress to the slopes around the airport and the landslide problem in the area has been adequately documented by Dr Dave Petley in his blog here.

I visited Pakyong on 05Nov2017 and met some local contacts who said almost 164 buildings/homes large and small, located below and around the runway had been damaged due to the sinking caused by the airport construction.  

I have placed images of buildings being dismantled and other images of Pakyong airport below:

 

I

I took these photos in Nov2017 and after that I have not visited Pakyong. 

What I know from media reports is that adequate compensation has been doled out to all the affected people there so there is silence from that end.
What I am not sure is about the health of the mountain because I believe the runway is under repair/ extension.

No flights have operated to/from Pakyong for some time now, for reasons unknown to me.

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling-Sikkim HImalaya
9475033744
savethehills@gmail.com

Raising awareness on impact of landslides on rural communities

Landslides are a cunning disaster form.
They mostly nibble and therefore their impact is not openly evident and it is often under-valued by governments and disaster management professionals alike.
Landslides are also very localized so one hill maybe totally stable and its people ignorant of the devastation being caused by landslides on an adjacent hill or mountain.
Add to this the fact that remote mountain communities seldom speak out and suffer in silence.
In an effort to raise awareness about this disaster form, SaveTheHills along with Junkeri Studio (Kalimpong) has produced two documentaries on the impact of the landslide at Pathing, a village about which we have blogged  a few days earlier.
The links are placed below:

• Gaguney Landslide (Part I) : Pathing (South Sikkim, India), a village on the edge
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9uxcI3NRXE&t=173s
  
  
• Gaguney landslide (Part II) : Pathing (South Sikkim, India), a village on the move
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6vlwdjLEB0&t=8s
  
  
  STH would like to thank the people of Pathing village and Yangyang and also all those who helped us make these documentaries.
  
  

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalaya
savethehills@gmail.com
9475033744

Pathing landslide in Yangyang subdivision, South Sikkim revisited: 27Nov2022

Our visit to and report on the 'Very Active Landslide', at Yangyang in South Sikkim, generated much interest from the public at large and more specifically from the people, media and government of Sikkim. As such the 7 min documentary which STH together with Junkeri Studios (Kalimpong) had almost completed required a total overhaul, since much had changed in Pathing.

The landslide, however continued to wreak havoc and we needed to update our videos as well as photos; as such we made another 3 hour trip to Pathing landslides on 27Nov2022. This photo report is from our visit there on the said date:

Probable cause of the landslide and prognosis
As per locals the landslide has been more active AFTER the monsoons rather than when it was raining. An expert whom I spoke to suggested this maybe due to 

• the weak rock formations such as phyllites and schists in the mountain
• the steep (almost 60 -70 deg) incline of the slope failure
  

What the experts and the villagers agreed on was that it was not possible to control or mitigate this slide as such the only choice left for Pathing villagers would be to relocate to a safer place and I am glad to say that the govt is already thinking on those lines.
A glimmer of hope may also come from what the locals told me - that the frequency of rockfall was less for the last few days and that it had not been active for the 3 consecutive nights. So it could also mean that the unstable mass was collapsing slowly which may lead to this slide becoming stable over a period of time.

Location details of slide
Latitude 27° 17' 44.196" N    Longitude 88° 23' 32.874" E
Elevation 1575.60 m

STH together with Junkeri Studios, Kalimpong will be coming up with a 10 min updated documentary which will include extensive drone foot-ages of the landslide, damage to the village and also interviews with affected people in the next week

As always, our thanks to all those who helped in making our second visit to Pathing possible and especially to the people of the village.

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling -Sikkim Himalaya
9475033744
savethehills@gmail.com

Mungpel: A village living on the edge (03Jan2021)

 As a part of our landslide surveys, I visited Mungpel, a small village in Pabringtar GP of Kalimpong (Block -1) on 03Jan2021. The village consists of 30 odd houses who are almost entirely of members of Limbu ethnic group. The sombre fact is that of these homes, approximately 10-15 overlook and are in the proximity of huge landslide.

We had carried out a landslide survey in this area in April 2011 and a map of the area from that survey is placed below:

Landslide history
As per locals, the landslide was insignificant until 2018 after which it has grown to its present size. This whole area receives very heavy rainfall and is thrashed by intense thunderstorms during the pre-monsoons but it is a pity there are no rainfall data from this place to relate the landslide activity.
However, the locals clearly said most of the damage was done during the monsoons of 2020 especially around end of Jun2020.
Coordinates of Mungpel Landslide:
N 26.95696° E088.54993°

At the base of the this hill there is a fairly big Durung khola (river) and a wonderful flat piece of land where the villagers do their agriculture and farming. As per the villagers the landslide was not due to toe erosion by the river and was caused by the inherent geology and heavy rain.
Yet another major landslide in the lower Sherwani area, nudges the Mungpel landslide and we have yet to survey that area.

As I have mentioned 3 families have already relocated to upper regions but some 10 other families also may suffer a similar fate - these monstrous landslides are seem impossible to control without serious study and funding.

Praful Rao
Kalimpong district
Darjeeling -Sikkim Himalaya

Arubotay - a village under threat of extinction from Landslides

Till yesterday, neither I nor anyone had heard of a tiny, obscure village called ARUBOTAY (which literally translates into 'Place of Plum Trees'). It is located in Majua GP, Block Office Bijanbari of Darjeeling district and if it doesn't grow plums, what it does grow is thousands of tons of squash.
Yes! agriculture is the mainstay and livelihood of people in Arubotay - that, along with tourism.
A few days ago I received a call from a friend asking me to visit the village and check the landslide situation there. I did that with STH member Ms Shreya Gurung and Mr Christopher Lepcha of Anugyalaya, a Darjeeling based Roman Catholic NGO.

A report:

1. Location : 27.01843N 088.14789E. Elevation: 1356m

2. Brief history of the landslide
I talked to several people of Arubotay who told me that the initial cracks and fissures had appeared on the hillock during the Sikkim earthquake of 18Sep2011 but many remarked their area was stable even during the mega-disaster of Oct 1968.
Thereafter, the region had remained more or less unscathed during the many intervening years . In 2020 however, the cracks had started 'growing' as early as July following heavy rain. One must note that there is also a fast flowing mountain river (Chota Rangit) below the Sacred Heart School, on the eastern flank of the hill. 
3. Landslide time and date:
The major landslide on the eastern face of the Arubotay ridge line and near the Sacred Heart School occurred at around 11.30pm on 23Sep2020, thereafter it continued on 24/25 Sep2020, when most of the instability and sinking in the village occurred. The landslide continues to be active even now.

Other data on the slide
a. Probable cause : Heavy rain and also erosion by mountain stream on the eastern flank
b. Size : Very large
c. Damage to property etc:
   i. The Sacred Heart School at Arubotay is being demolished since it is unsafe.
  ii. Around 26 homes totally damaged and 10 homes partially damaged
  iii. Loss of farmland - around 20 acres.
  iv. Road communication from Maneybhanjyang to Jorethang (Sikkim) has been cut
d. In all probability most of those who have lost their homes will have to be relocated as the mitigating or controlling the landslide appears impossible.

4. Rainfall data

Detailed rainfall records of our region are available in the STH blog. Day wise rainfall record of Sep2020 will be published in a week.

4. About Sacred Heart School
The new Sacred Heart School building donated by a Luxemburg NGO was inaugurated in 2011 and was run by the Roman Catholic Diocesan trust at Arubotay. The school was functional from much earlier and had 57 students, mostly from around the area, enrolled in 2020.
The building is being DEMOLISHED today.

Update 1
On 10Oct2020, the District Magistrate, Darjeeling accompanied by the GTA Chairman (seen above), visited the ARUBOTAY landslide area and among other things discussed the possible relocation of affected people. We also know that the GSI will be send their officials for a study of the area in a few days.
Update 2 (25Oct)
Two geologists from GSI visited the area around mid Oct2020 and have filed their report to the Darjeeling district administration, based on which the BDO Pulbazar has issued a notice for relocation of the residents of Arubotay. 

Our thanks to the community of Arubotay for their time and help during our visit yesterday and my sincere gratitude to Bishop Stephen Lepcha for his initiative and help.
Update 2
I received this letter from the Bishop, yesterday (16Jun2021):

Report by Praful Rao and Shreya Gurung
SaveTheHills