Chungthang residents place grievances with District administration

PUBLIC DISSATISFIED WITH SLOW PACE EARTHQUAKE REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT WORK 
MANGAN, 10 Jan:  The Panchayat and public of Chungthang held a meeting with the North District administration here at the BDO’s office at Chungthang in North Sikkim yesterday.  The meeting was attended by DC North, TN Kazi, SDM Chungthang, BDO Chungthang, SDPO Chungthang, Panchayat members and the affected people.
During the meeting, the Panchayat president, Lendup Lepcha on behalf of the people highlighted the grievances of the people. He expressed that even after four months since the earthquake nothing has been done for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the affected people. The people have already approached the concerned authority but no feedback has been received as yet.  He also informed that the assurance given by the Chief Minister during his visit to Chungthang has also not been fulfilled.
The Panchayat president also highlighted that many experts from reputed institutions have visited and inspected the damage site and given assurances but nothing has materialized of that as well, Chungthang suffered a lot of damage to life and property in the earthquake but the people of the area feel that they are being neglected since no immediate action has been undertaken to reinstate normalcy in the area.
Water and electricity, although temporarily restored by the department is still erratic. He also informed that the houses which have totally collapsed and damaged cannot be dismantled due to lack of expert advice.
Similarly, other affected people also highlighted the problems faced by them during the meeting.  The people also demanded compensation from Teesta Urja as houses have suffered cracks due to the continuous blasting which has rendered government as well as private properties unsafe.
At the end, the people appealed to the District authority to place their demands to the higher authorities and requested for early action. The DC North, in turn assured the people that immediate restoration work will be taken up in consultation with the higher authority and appealed to the people to have patience as everything will be carried out according to government procedure and norms.
It may be added here that the Ramam power house which supplies electricity to Chungthang and its surrounding areas is also not functioning.  The roads too need maintenance work at several places where there is a risk of stones shooting down.