Forgotten corner of College Valley receives area MLA’s visit

SUBASH RAI
TADONG, 06 July: The residents of College Valley got an opportunity to lay down the seven reasons how the jhora running between their homes and the college campus was posing threat to their lives and property. The area was visited by their MLA, the Urban Development & Housing Minister, DB Thapa, today.
The Minister, accompanied by SDM [Gangtok], Dr. AB Karki, Councillor Prabhat Gurung, senior officials from UD&HD, Land Revenue Department, HRDD and other departments visited the College Valley area starting from College Gate down to Joredhara Point on NH31A.

This jhora has not been repaired in 20 years and seepage from it has caused cracks on nearby houses. The ongoing developmental works at the Tadong Government College is also contributing to the damage.
The grievance submitted by the residents, states that the restoration work has not been done for too long; the condition is so worsened by the guide walls at several points having collapsed obstructing flow of water; the debris dumped in the jhora may cause disaster because of overflow and the jhora is choked at Joredhara point at 5th Mile where it joins the Highway.
The residents went on to record that the volume of water during rains is as much as that of Rani Khola but its potential for disaster remains ignored by the authorities.
The residents urged the Minister to take necessary steps for immediate restoration and take necessary action for reducing the volume of water in the jhora, which can be done by distributing drain water to other jhoras such as Chowhan jhora which runs through the college premises.
Listening to the grievances, the Minister informed that the Chief Minister and the Government were very serious about resolving the pathetic condition of the jhoras situated in and around Gangtok.
“We have assigned the job to the Irrigation Department, who, in consultations with experts, have sent estimates to the Central Government,” Mr. Thapa said, adding that a proper solution of these problems will be sorted out in the days to come.
Earlier, Divisional Engineer of the Irrigation Department informed that as per the Central Government’s Flood Management Programme [FMP], such huge projects require an estimate of more than Rs. 7.5 crore and below Rs. 15 crores has to be considered. Accordingly, the Department has submitted a proposal which will cover all the major jhoras falling in and around Gangtok including being visited.
On the blockage at Joredhara Point, the Minister informed that his office has already written to the BRO and will also direct the PHE Department as it was seen that the sewage line is also one of the main culprits behind this blocking space.
Earlier, the Minister also visited the houses within the valley, damaged in the recent past. Among these, a house of Chandra Bahadur Tamang was found severely damaged.
The Minister directed the SDM to look into the matter immediately. In response, Dr. Karki informed that a survey team will be deployed immediately to access the damage and reports will be submitted to the District Collector [East] and ex-gratia relief distributed accordingly.
Meanwhile, the visiting team also found careless dumping of garbage in the jhora creating a filthy and unhygienic environment. Regarding this, the Minister warned that anyone found dumping garbage will be booked under the appropriate laws.
Responding to the demand to install CCTV cameras along the jhora, the Councillor, Mr. Gurung assured that this will be done by the Gangtok Municipal Corporation immediately.