Do you notice the uncanny similarity between images of the 'Himalayan Tsunami' of mid-Jun2013 (placed on the LHS) and those from the Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalaya (on RHS)?
Here are 10 reasons why the Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalaya could also suffer
the same fate as Uttarakhand :-
- Our
geographical location on the southern most part of the Himalayan arc is
unique. As such the Darjeeling – Sikkim
Himalaya is situated barely 800km north of the Bay of
Bengal, which brews up 5-7 cyclones or depressions annually.
- Due to
our location, our average annual rainfall is approx 3000mm, double that of
Uttarakhand (1523mm) and 3 X the national average.
- Rainfall
pattern has shown a perceptible change in the recent past – extremes in rainfall being more the norm than an exception (In May2013 we had double
the monthly rainfall but Jun2013 has been largely dry till date)
- We
have a long history of landslide disasters viz Sep 1899, Jun 1950, Oct 1968, Sep 2007, Cyclone AILA in May 2009 and 18Sep2011 (earthquake induced).
- Geological
Survey of India (or GSI, the nodal Govt. body looking after landslides in India)
categorizes our area as amongst the most landslide prone in the country.
- In the
recent past, there has been phenomenal developmental activity much of
which has been unplanned and haphazard, paying scant heed to building
codes etc.
More than 30 dams have been constructed or are planned in the
Teesta river basin.
Also the tremendous rural to urban migration has resulted in our major towns showing signs of severe distress with basic civic facilities such as
potable water, public latrines, solid waste management and most
importantly, drainage being on the verge of collapse. Densely populated colonies
have sprung up on unstable and unsafe slopes.
Non-engineered roads constructed on a massive scale all over the region by
poorly trained or unemployed petty contractors will be a major cause of
landslides in the future.
- Both Darjeeling and Sikkim have large scale influx
of tourists, many more than the pilgrims who were caught up in the
Uttarakhand disaster.
- Densely
populated settlements and towns such as Rangpo, Singtam, Majitar, Melli,
Jorethang have comeup along banks of rivers ie Teesta and Rangit.
- As
population increases, forest cover has reduced all over the region
- Even after the earthquake of 18Sep2011, disaster
management has received little priority in this region.
Photo credits of Darjeeling/Sikkim :
Kundan Yolmo, Sikkim Express, Das Studio (Darjeeling)
Photos from Uttarakhand obtained from the internet.
Praful Rao,
Kalimpong,
Darjeeling District.
