STH activities (28Mar2014) : Talk on ' Major Environmental Challenges in the Himalayas' in NSS Orientation program at Kalimpong

Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

Landslide in Washington state USA : 22Mar2014

Seminar on 'Living with Hazards' at North Bengal University, Dist Darjeeling (27-28Mar2014)

The Convenor, Prof Subir Sarkar of the Dept of Geography, North Bengal University can be contacted on 9434110158 (M)


Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

Cyclonic circulation dumps rain and ice over many parts of SHWB and Sikkim

The precipitation is welcome and comes after an almost bone-dry period from Oct 2013 till now. In Kalimpong we are facing severe water shortage and also the numerous horticultural establishments in Kalimpong, not to mention the tea gardens of Darjeeling were also parched after a rainless winter season

Rainfall on 20Mar2014
Kalimpong : 22mm (4.30 to 5.30pm)
Darjeeling : 9mm


Praful Rao
Kalimpong,
Dist Darjeeling

STH to participate in ATREE seminar on 25/26Feb2014

STH President Wg Cdr Prafulla Rao (retd) will be participating in a seminar "Linking Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation and sustainable landscape development goals in the Eastern Himalaya" as a resource person.

The two day event (25/26Feb2014) has been organised by ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Reseach in Ecology and the Enviroment), START (SysTem for Analysis,Research & Traning) and CDKN (Climate & Development Knowledge Network) in an effort to identify ways in which awareness of oncoming climate changes can be better linked with disaster risk reduction planning, in the context of Eastern Himalaya, especially Indian East Himalaya.

Rohan Rao,
Secretary, STH
Kalimpong,
Dist-Darjeeling,
Email - rohan.rao1313@gmail.com

21Feb2014 - DDMA (east) conducts mock drill on earthquake preparedness in and around Gangtok,Sikkim.

21Feb2014 - District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA East) in coordination with Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority, Land Revenue & Disaster Management Department conducted a preparatory mock drill on the earthquake preparedness at 1100hrs today in various places in and around Gangtok which is a precursor to a Mega Mock drill scheduled on 10Mar2014.

East District Collector-cum-chairman JS Raje said in an official release that the exercise was carried out to sensitize and spread awareness on earthquakes.

Source : sikkimfirst.in
Image : sikkimexpress.com

Rohan Rao,
Secretary, STH
Kalimpong,
Dist-Darjeeling,
Email - rohan.rao1313@gmail.com

18Feb2014 - Field visit with Mr.Reinmar Seidler (Director of Programs ATREE - USA)

18Feb2014 - STH had the pleasure of having Mr.Reinmar Seidler - Director of Programs ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Enviroment) - USA / Research Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston / Research Associate, Harvard University in Kalimpong for a day. He was here for an insight on rural road construction in relation with the occurence of landslides.

During the course of his short visit we visited the landslide affected areas of 'Bara Bhalukhop' village through which a major road is under construction which will eventually become a secondary route to 'Melli', 'Gandhi Ashram' school in 6th Mile, where the cracks in the school building have become even more evident than the last time STH visited the school (here) and 'Chibbo/Pashyor' Village (which has been featured many times on this blog here and here) which is located directly below some of the most densely populated areas in Kalimpong.

Rohan Rao,

Secretary, STH

Kalimpong,

Dist-Darjeeling,

Email - rohan.rao1313@gmail.com

STH Activities (25Jan2014) - Awareness camp held in CDC (Child Development Center) Bijoy Nagar, Naxalbari.

In an effort to raise awareness amongst the rural community of Naxalbari , STH was in Bijoy Nagar T.E at Naxalbari, North Bengal on 25Jan2014 and held an awareness camp in the CDC (Child Development Center) complex there.
The 20-25 attendees consisted mainly of tea garden workers and a few students. The session was conducted in Hindi and covered DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) and domestic fire safety.
Special thanks to Mr.Amosh from Compassion for organizing the camp.

Rohan Rao,
Secretary, STH
Kalimpong,
Dist-Darjeeling,
Email - rohan.rao1313@gmail.com

A farmer's nightmare - Gairi Gaon, Kalimpong (Jan2014)

On 19Jan2014, STH visited Gairi Gaon (Bong Gram Panchayat), which lies on the eastern face of the Kalimpong ridgeline, directly below densely populated portions of the town. Agriculture, which is the main source of income for people in this village has come under threat with the landslide problem in the area.
The root causes of the landslides appear to be : 

• The rapid urbanization of the area above 'Lower Bong' area leading to more surface run off and during the monsoon season the enormous amounts of rainfall causes the 'jhoras' to swell so much so that in the words of a local farmer Mr Santa Bahadur Rai " The earth trembles and I just can't sleep". 


• The presence of untrained 'jhoras' (streams) (Pasang and Gokulay Slide 1.) in the vicinity of the village. These streams and the 'Relli' river pull apart the hillside causing tremendous damage to the agricultural land (Slide 6.) The government has not initiated any form 'jhora' training programs in the area resulting in vast areas of land remaining fallow. 

Since help from the govt or any NGO seems implausible, the villagers themselves contributed to constructing a road constructed in 2012, prior to which the only way to get to the village was on foot.
Also, since there is no form of compensation given to farmers who have lost their land to a landslide by the government many people have lost there means of livelihood. The area surveyed by STH covers roughly about 73acres (Slide 2.) of which approx 37 acres have been affected in someway by landslide activity. The alarming rate of wear and tear and its effect on the land is clearly evident when we look at the local school which was renovated in 2012 and has already started developing cracks (Slides 4&5). 

The grave reality of the situation though is that all these landslides (other major landslide areas - Sindebung,Chibbo) are actually growing in size each year, slowly nibbling away at the land that surrounds them and unless some sort of mitigation work to stop or slow this process down is done, in the foreseeable future we risk the destabilization of the whole Kalimpong town itself.

Rohan Rao,
Secretary,
SaveTheHills.
Kalimpong

Contact : rohan.rao1313@gmail.com

STH stormwatch (04Jan2014) : Well marked low pressure over southwest Bay of Bengal.

IMetD - All India Weather Bulletin (Night)

• The well marked low pressure area over southwest Bay of Bengal and neighborhood persists with associated upper air cyclonic circulation extending upto 3.1 km above mean sea level.
• The well marked low pressure area over southwest Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood would move westwards during next 48 hours and affect Tamilnadu and Kerala. 

Rohan Rao

Kalimpong,

Dist-Darjeeling,

Email : rohan.rao1313@gmail.com