Sharchhopas be careful!

Sharchho, 1998

Sharchho, 2011

 text & pictures by TSERING TASHI

A view of Sharchho from Phakha, Lachung village, North Sikkim.
Sharchho, as confirmed by the photograph of the area from 1998, is built up on debris brought down by a past glacier lake outburst flood. The landform is unchanged in the 2011 photograph but the Army and the civil residents have started settling down within the flood plain. This is dangerous because there are reportedly three or four unstable glacial lakes upslope of Sharchho. The Dzumsa and Pipons should consult glaciology experts at the Sikkim State Science & Technology Department for a reality check.

12 new homes inaugurated in Lachung on Earthquake anniv

MANGAN, 20 Sept: Twelve new houses, seven constructed under REDRH and 05 through CMRHM, were inaugurated in Lachung on 18 September to mark the second anniversary of the 2011 earthquake which had caused extensive damage across Sikkim.
The seven houses constructed under Reconstruction of Earthquake Damaged Rural Houses scheme belong to Karma Chopel, Chewang Lachungpa, Chenga Pintso, Jigmee Lachungpa and three others while the five CMRHM houses were made for the families of Chenden Lachungpa, Tempo Lachungpa, Yama Dadul Lachungpa, Pema Norbu and Chanchok Lachungpa, details a press release issued by Pema Ongdi Lachungpa, the Lachung Dzumsa coordinator.
The houses were inaugurated by the Chungthang BAC AE, Gayden Lepcha, along with Lachung Pipons Lakpa Tshering Lachungpa and Nethup Lachungpa.
Prayers were also offered at Lachung Monastery for the peace and well being of the state and in the memory of those who lost their lives in the 2011 earthquake. The prayer was led by the Tsultrimpa and joined by other monks of monastery.
The Lachung Dzumsa also extended gratitude towards the government for the REDRH and CMRHM schemes and extending them to Lachung in aid of those who lost their houses to the earthquake.  Lachungpa Dzumsa has announced a commitment to complete all sanctioned REDRH houses by March 2014.

Road disruptions add to Lachung’s cut off woes

WANGCHUK BHUTIA

MANGAN, 25 Sept: The monsoons have not been kind to North Sikkim and have been especially harsh on the road infrastructure. While most of the district is cut off at present, the woes for Lachung have been more persistent. Its road disrupted since the earthquake last year, in the latest instance, the road to Lachung has been closed more often than open since a massive slide tore away a 150 metre section at Khedum, a few kilometres short of Lachung, on 06 August 2012. While BRO had managed to repair the road a month later, it did not hold for long and transhipment was the only option available here for most times.
Now, with the road to Chungthang beset with more than 36 major and minor slides, the people of Lachung are a worried lot because even transhipment is no longer an option.
The biggest worry of the people is with regard to medical emergencies. Several residents, while speaking to NOW! today, pointed out that Lachung has many senior citizens in residence and as is a challenge of their advanced years, most are in frail health. Given the condition of the roads, taking them out of Lachung in the event of a medical emergency is now impossible.
The residents accept that the roads throughout the district have been devastated and highlight that what they urgently require at present are better medical facilities at Lachung itself. The village has a Primary Health Sub Centre which has a prescribed strength of one nurse. Given the inaccessibility of Lachung to better healthcare facilities, the villagers have appealed for the deployment of at least one doctor for the village.
Apart from this worry, the residents also share that while adequate stocks of essential items have been maintained, they have begun facing shortage of vegetables, LPG and Kerosene. It may be mentioned here that officials state that the road to Lachung will take at least another 20 days to restore.

Road to Lachung expected to open on Saturday

MANGAN, 07 Sept: The traffic to Lachung, which was blocked here at Khedum a few kilometers short of Lachung, is expected to resume, weather permitting, from Saturday onwards. Although the road had been opened for traffic yesterday following completion of the new road formation, fresh slides disrupted traffic again.
The road to Lachung has been blocked since 06 August when around 150 metres of the road formation was washed out by landslides caused by incessant rain.  The BRO and Army had since been engaged in restoration works.
This slide had also damaged the power supply line to Lachung and many vehicles have been stranded at Lachung. The only option for commuters was transshipment from right above the slide which took an hour.
It may be mentioned here that the traffic to Lachung was also blocked for two months last year after the 18 September earthquake when a huge slide washed away around 200 meters of road formation just about 50 meters ahead of this slide.
Meanwhile, the people of Lachung had placed a demand petition to the Chief Secretary during his visit to North Sikkim last month for an alternate route from the right bank of the river to bypass this slide.

Road to Lachung to be restored within 12 days

MANGAN, 24 Aug:  The road to Lachung [yes, there needs to be a road somewhere in the landslide shown above] will be restored within the next 12 days informed Chief Engineer BRO, Rajiv Sawney while speaking to NOW! today.
Around 150 metres of road formation a few kilometres short of Lachung has been washed away by a landslide and undertaking restoration work has been very difficult, the CE said.
BRO is carrying out restoration with the deployment of more excavators and JCBs at the spot to reconstruct the road formation.  The road here at Khedum was blocked by new landslides that occurred here on 06 August this month due to heavy rain.
The people of Lachung have to undertake transhipment at this spot with a one-hour walk on foot above the slide and there are further difficulties in transhipment of essential commodities, informed the Pipon of Lachung, Karma Lachungpa.
It may be mentioned here that around 500 metres of road here was damaged by a slide triggered by last year’s earthquake and this year the road has been blocked by a new slide that has occurred next to the previous slide.
Meanwhile, the people of Lachung have demanded the construction of an alternate road towards the left bank of the river.

Flash-flood on Jiring Khola wreaks havoc on Lachung

LACHUNG, 05 June: Sunday afternoon’s heavy downpour triggered a flash-flood on Jiring Khola about a kilometre short of Lachung, damaging five houses at Singring in Lachung, North Sikkim. The flash flood broke its banks right above the village and diverted the flow of the stream towards the village.
A building and a wooden house belonging to Thakchuk Lachungpa and another house belonging to Khetuk Lachungpa have been damaged. The flash flood also damaged the under construction house of Chyangchok Lachungpa and Dup Lachungpa. Apart from these, four under construction CMRHM houses and a guest house of the Fisheries Department along with a fish pond have also been damaged.
The flood also damaged three RCC bridges connecting Singring and Thomchu and another bridge on the way to Lachung Monastery. Land belonging to Thungchung Lachungpa and Hooking Lachungpa were also damaged along with standing crop of potatoes, cabbage and apple orchards. Fortunately, no loss of life has been reported as the flood occurred in day time and people managed to escape in time.
One Sonam Lachungpa’s house along with several other houses are, however, still in danger.
Villagers comprising of women, youth and senior citizens have been engaged in putting together a temporary log bridge to cross over the river which is an urgent need. The drinking water supply line to Singring and Thomchu was extensively damaged and villagers are now fetching water from the nearby river. The affected people are being housed in a temporary shed while some villagers have sought shelter at Bitchu nearby with relatives.
While speaking to NOW!, Tenzing Lachungpa informed that diversion of the river and jhora training of the river is urgently required to avoid further damage. Meanwhile, the area MLA, TW Lepcha, SDM Chungthang and BDO Chungthang also visited the spot and took stock of the damages. A team from the Irrigation department headed by Asst Engineer, K Jigme Bhutia also visited the affected areas.

3 booked for assault in Lachung

GANGTOK, 28 Nov: Three persons were arrested in Lachung on charges of assaulting and threatening the manager of a company engaged in works in North Sikkim. Norbu Lachungpa, Lanchey Lachungpa and Bhai Lachungpa have been accused of forced entry and threatening the Manager of MG Contractor Pvt Ltd at Dongeythang, Lachung in the wee hours of 27 November.

Theft in Lachung

GANGTOK, 07 Nov: A case of theft has been registered against unknown persons on 06 November at the Lachung Police Station.

CM sanctions people’s demands at Lachung, explains earthquake relief process

MANGAN, 30 Oct: The state is yet to receive the full amount of Rs. 1,000 crore promised by the Centre as earthquake relief, with only Rs. 50 crore received this far, the Chief Minister informed while addressing people during his stopover at Lachung as part of his North Sikkim tour, adding that the State has already spent Rs. 100 crore in relief compensation alone thus far.

Forester shares experience of earthquake seconds and long hours after at Lachung

Aerial view of Lachung

GANGTOK, 28 Sept: Forest Guard Ashok Gurung and his colleagues Dawgey Bhutia, Bhola Nath Dangal and Pravin Baraily were on duty at Lachung when the earthquake struck on 18 September. Being among the few men in uniform in the affected area, the team, led by their BO, Karma Sonam, were among the first to begin rescue operations. FG Gurung was flown to Gangtok on 26 Sept after sustaining injuries during rescue operations.

Pipon brings status update on Lachung

GANGTOK, 27 Sept: Lachung Pipon Chewang Namgyal, accompanied by four residents of the North Sikkim village, arrived in Gangtok from Lachung in an army helicopter today and brought firsthand accounts of Lachung’s earthquake experience and fatermath.
Accompanied by Thupden Lachungpa, Pema Ongdi Lachungpa, Gyatso Lachungpa and Karma Lhendup, the Pipon stressed that his first message was to students and people from Lachung outside the village at present. “Everyone in Lachung is safe thanks to the blessings of Guru Rinpoche and Lachung Rinpoche and there is no need to worry for any one’s safety,” he said.

Flashflood in Lachung; Property damaged, no one injured

GANGTOK, 22 Sept: A flash-flood in a minor stream passing through Lachung, initially denied by district officials but confirmed by ITBP officials and later by the Chief Secretary, occurred at Lachung at 12:15 a.m. on the intervening night of 21 and 22 September. Although property was destroyed when the stream broke its banks, no one was injured in the incident.