Editorial: West Sikkim, Cut Off

West Sikkim is not new to monsoon mayhem. The district has consistently been among the worst suffering districts when it comes to suffering the ravages of the wet season. Its relative remoteness, comparatively poorer infrastructure and topographical challenges have bestowed it rather weak defences against the monsoon months which are wetter here in comparison to other parts of the State. Most of its roads regress into a procession of slides and slips the moment the skies open up, and this year has been no different. The opening fortnight alone has forced the relocation of more than a 100 people from slide ravaged homes to safer locations. Once a landslide peels away, it keeps gaining strength at least throughout the season, and given what is already being reported from the West District, the coming months are bound to demand many more evacuations and many more sheets of tarpaulin sheets which seem to be the only landslide containment response the concerned authorities have figured out thus far. One reads of monsoon preparedness meetings being held across the State, but these are essentially mitigation-preparedness efforts by concerned authorities mostly limited to checking whether adequate stocks of essential commodities are being maintained or not. While this may be necessary in the event of monsoon-triggered blockades, not enough is being done by way of precautionary efforts. Evacuations to safer locations are almost always undertaken after the existing place of residence has been damaged. Disaster preparedness requires more long-term planning and better advance warning systems. While all of Sikkim finds itself handicapped in these aspects, the case for West Sikkim is even worse. They suffer the monsoon without even knowing how much it has rained. The Meteorological Office in Gangtok releases daily weather updates for Sikkim, but has data only for parts of East, South and North Sikkim. The West district draws a blank. While one can argue that rainfall data is of little use after a slide has torn away, it is not necessarily so, because recording such data becomes important for future planning when correlated with the severity of slides. Sikkim might still lack realtime disaster preparedness informed by, say half-hourly weather updates during severe weather, but it will have to incorporate something on these lines eventually. When that happens, West Sikkim will find itself out of the loop because it apparently does not have the infrastructure to collate such data. There was talk of having weather recording systems at all BACs, maybe these have even been installed, but is anyone keeping records? West district also suffers because it has no real ‘investments’ either by way of hydel projects or industries. While there is no denying that these projects have caused much heartburn everywhere, the men and machinery maintained by them have proved useful in times of crisis. West Sikkim is also not strategically located, which is perhaps why its compromised connectivity does not evoke the sense of urgency which road disruptions to less populated areas [like Tsomgo and beyond in East Sikkim, and North district] receive. It should be to overcome these disadvantages that the district receives even attention.