DC petitioned to depute security and urgent relief to Dubdi Monastery

Images of the damage suffered by Dubdi Monastery due to the 18 September Earthquake. [fotos: ST GYATSO]

GANGTOK, 13 Oct: The Duchi Committee of Dubdi Monastery, Yuksam, in a letter addressed to the District Collector, West, appraising his office of the extent of damage suffered by the monastery, has requested for immediate measures to be taken at the site.
According to the letter, the monastery has sustained major damage and the entire structure is on the verge of total collapse. Now, exposed to the threat of theft, the monastery is being guarded by volunteers of the traditional combination of Lhade-Medhe and the local populace, round the clock apart from just one police guard posted there.
No official from the Ecclesiastical Department has visited the site so far, the letter further informs.
Enlisting some immediate measures required at the site, the letter requests for a contingent of at least 6 policemen to be posted as soon as possible at the Dubdi Monastery in addition to 6 Lhade-Medhe volunteers organised by the monks and civil society to safeguard the monastery’s possessions, “as a matter of urgency”.
Arrangement of proper accommodation and food for the volunteers, at the earliest, has also been requested.
The letter seeks construction of a temporary prayer hall to continue with the Dharma schedules and obligations, important ceremonies of the state as well as funeral rituals of the general public.
Lastly, immediate measures to reconstruct the Dubdi Monastery on the existing spot with RCC structure with modern technical skills to make it earthquake-resistant keeping in view that Sikkim lies in an earthquake prone zone.   
The letter details that Sang-Gna Dorje Den Dubdi Monastery is the first monastery of the state, established in 1612 A.D by Lhatsun Namkha Jigme soon after the installation of Chogyal Phuntsok Namgyal at Norbugang in Yuksam.