SaveTheHills(STH) is a group of concerned citizens who are raising awareness about landslides in Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya. Many landslides are the direct or indirect result of human interference and preventable if sufficient care is taken. As such, unless we begin a comprehensive and sustained program towards landslide management, prevention and mitigation, the consequences of ignoring years of human callousness will, in the future be devastating.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Death in the mountains
I attended the funeral and cremation ceremony of the victims of yesterday's landslide (see here) at the Buddhist Cremation grounds at Tirpai, Kalimpong.
The family had put up photos of the victims (mother, daughter and son) while Tibetan lamas (monks) chanted prayers in the background.
What makes these deaths so senseless is that the landslide could have been wholly prevented with a little attention to the drainage in the area.
But then I am afraid that we will see this costly mistake being repeated ad nauseam all over the Darjeeling Himalayas as the monsoons intensify.
Praful Rao
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