Sikkim Politicians and the Art of Fearmongering – Much Ado About Nothing by Upendra highlights how a section of politicians in Sikkim have always used “Darjeeling-Sikkim” merger issues to rake up political capital.

During the Sikkim Legislative Assembly elections of 2014, the then Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling had used “Sikkim lai Gorkhaland banauncha” narrative to scare people of Sikkim to vote against SKM. That was the first time I had realized how politicians in Sikkim use “Darjeeling merger” as a tool to fear-monger people into voting for them. In almost every election after that, this narrative is raked up in Sikkim by one group of politicians or another, to serve their nefarious political purposes.

The recent storm in the tea cup that has engulfed Sikkim and social-media stem from a position paper shared by Dr. Mahendra P Lama, who also happens to be the Chief Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sikkim. The position paper lists out four potential forms of Permanent Political Solution for Darjeeling region, among which the fourth reads “minimum possible solution – national interest project – wherein North Bengal as a State and/or with contiguous areas of neighbouring states could be legislated by the Govt of India” (sic).

This has been interpreted by a section of Sikkimese politicians to translate that Dr. Lama is pushing for a Darjeeling-Sikkim merger. Their target is not Dr. Lama or what he wrote, but Chief Minister PS Golay. In politics as in love and war, all is fair.

In targeting Dr. Lama and running this “Darjeeling-Sikkim merger” narrative, politicians in Sikkim, particularly those associated with Citizen Action Party and BJP are seeking to score some political brownie points. That’s not the issue, the issue is being outright offensive and losing all sense of decency and decorum.

We are not sure which political party these morons support, but some individuals have been downright abusive. They have gone past disagreement and into vile personal attack.

I have no love for Dr. Lama, but I take offense to the way he is being treated by a section of politicians in Sikkim and their media. If they think Dr. Lama’s proposal is wrong, they can answer it with facts, or with a position of their own, instead of resorting to abuses. Whichever party these individuals belong to, they have shown poor manners and poor judgment. A political party that wants to be taken seriously should not need this kind of support.

The “merger” claim also deserves a plain reply. What I find hilarious is that some in Sikkim suffer from this “Central Character Syndrome” and have taken “with contiguous areas of neighbouring states” to mean Sikkim. That’s absolutely not the case. As far as I know, securing the Chicken’s Neck by incorporating Kishanganj district of Bihar into a possible North Bengal state has been an idea national security experts have proposed many times. We don’t see people in Bihar protesting, nor people in Assam with which also West Bengal shares a border. Why is it that every time, a solution to Darjeeling is proposed, a certain section of politicians in Sikkim feels insecure? it’s because this narrative serves their political purpose and nothing else.

What’s funnier still, a former MLA from Kurseong, who got less votes than NOTA during the MP elections has also waded into the murky waters, blaming Dr. Lama while targeting CM Golay. He is like that typical, “बेगानी शादी में अब्दुल्ला दीवाना”, no use or purpose, create controversy and seek relevance.

If the Citizen Action Party and BJP want to question Chief Minister Golay, they have every right to do so. It has the Assembly, the press and the public. They can criticise his policies, his record and his decisions. They do not need to invent a “merger” story and drag Dr. Lama into it to do that.

Politics can be sharp without being crude.

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Darjeeling could be the next Dharali or Joshimath writes Chandrani Sinha

On a rainy morning in August, 47-year-old Dawa Lepcha stood with a newspaper in his hand at Chowrasta, Darjeeling’s famed pedestrian square. His eyes reflected his apprehension over the future of his hometown, Darjeeling. The headline of the newspaper he was reading said: “Uttarkashi’s Dharali devastated by flood.”

Tucked in the misty ridges of the eastern Himalayas, Darjeeling is famous for its colonial charm and tea gardens. The town now struggles under unchecked urbanization and climate change.

Located at the other end in the western Himalayas in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district is the town of Dharali. On August 5, a cloudburst near the Kheer Ganga River triggered a flood that engulfed Dharali, sweeping away houses, hotels, and restaurants. In the name of development of the tourism industry, and despite repeated warnings from environmentalists of the dire impact of construction activity in this sensitive area, roads, hotels, and high-rise buildings have come up at a rapid pace in recent decades in Uttarakhand.

This is the case in Darjeeling and other towns in the eastern Himalayas as well.

“Like any other Himalayan town, Darjeeling was not meant for high-rises,” Dawa said. “Any construction that exceeds 11.5 meters in height is illegal. Everyone knows this. But with the town municipality itself violating its own laws, people are not respecting the law.”

A tourist guide by profession, Dawa chose to become Darjeeling’s environmental conscience.  He has filed public interest litigations and writ petitions in courts, and challenged hotel lobbies. He has faced threats to his life for trying to protect a town, which he says has been “killed by concrete and greed.”

Dawa fears that Darjeeling will one day face the fate that towns like Dharali and Joshimath have suffered.

Disasters in Dharali and Joshimath

At 2.55 pm on August 5, there was a sudden roar. It was the Kheer Ganga River hurtling toward Dharali, swallowing people, hotels, houses, and homestays in its path. Among the first to witness the disaster was Harish Nautiyal, a 45-year-old temple priest from a nearby village. “It felt like hell came down,” he said, recalling the flood.

What unfolded in Dharali wasn’t simply a natural disaster. The calamity was amplified by human negligence and intervention, satellite images reveal.

Joshimath, a pilgrimage town in Uttarakhand, India, is sinking due to alarming land subsidence. Since 2022, over 600 homes, hotels, hospitals, and temples have developed cracks, forcing locals to evacuate. The town was built on an ancient landslide debris in seismic Zone 5, which makes it geologically fragile. Subsequent poorly planned infrastructure, rapid development of tourism, tunnel blasting for roads and hydropower projects worsened its stability.

Satellite data revealed that land at Joshimath sank by 9 cm between April–November 2022, followed by another 5.4 cm of subsidence in just 12 days in January 2023, highlighting the urgency of addressing the town’s ecological and human crisis.

“This is a seismic zone,” environmental activist Atul Sati of the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti said. “We warned the government about construction activity here for decades, but nobody listened.” Roads, hydropower projects and high-rise buildings mushroomed.

“Then one extreme rainfall and cloudburst cracked open our homes in Joshimath,” Sati recalled.

Despite clear laws prohibiting the construction of high-rise buildings near rivers within the eco-sensitive zones, unchecked development of tourism infrastructure, including hotels and homestays, has been taking place on the floodplains.

In 2013, the Uttarakhand High Court issued an order prohibiting construction near rivers, while the Bhagirathi Eco-Sensitive Zone Notification of 2012 had designated this as a protected area. Yet, both orders have been ignored.

Studies in 2020 and 2023 pointed to the dangers of stream obstruction and encroachment. But government authorities never took action on these warnings. The Himalaya Nagrik Drishti Manch, a citizen group, filed petitions with the National Green Tribunal (NGT), including Original Application No. 99/2017, which specifically warned against unchecked hotel development on floodplains. None of these appeals led to any significant enforcement.

What happened in Uttarakhand, where even court orders could not stop reckless building, is now reflected in Darjeeling, where legal tools to stop violation of the law are often ignored or suppressed.

Darjeeling’s Quest for Transparency

In Darjeeling, too, people are seeking transparency. But their efforts have hit a wall. It’s been almost two months since this writer filed multiple applications demanding information under the Right to Information Act. But they have all gone unanswered.

According to Bharat Prakash Rai, activist and founder of The Federation of Societies for Environmental Protection, “Darjeeling falls under Seismic Zone 4. The town municipality should be limiting new construction to a height of 11.5 meters. But it is not.” He said he fears that disasters like those in Uttarakhand may happen in Darjeeling in future.

The municipal rules are backed by the West Bengal Hill Areas (Preservation of Ecology) Act, 2001, which aims to protect fragile slopes from becoming unstable. The National Forest Conservation Act, 1980, also provides another layer of legal protection. To strengthen these legal measures, the Calcutta High Court has repeatedly stepped in to order action against illegal buildings. On September 27, 2024, the court issued an order for unauthorized construction on Darjeeling’s eco-sensitive slopes to be cleared.

Supreme Court lawyer Arjun Raghuvanshi pointed out that willful disobedience and construction in defiance of a court order can lead to “imprisonment, fines, demolition of structures and even the cancellation of rights or approval obtained during violation.” The Supreme Court, he said, “has made it clear in multiple rulings that illegal construction cannot be regularized by local bodies. In multiple cases, courts have also held the municipality accountable when they breach such orders, with departmental actions and contempt proceedings. “

Yet violation of the rules persists.

Local Governance Crisis

But laws, however robust on paper, are only as effective as the officials who should uphold them. In Darjeeling, municipal leadership often speaks a different language.

The chairman of the Darjeeling Municipality, Dipen Thakuri, said that buildings on the slopes have existed since British colonial times. He blamed the construction boom on population pressure and migration from villages to towns. “I don’t support high-rises,” he said, “but I do sympathize with the people.” They need housing.

Thakuri omitted that the laws he is meant to uphold were enacted after the colonial era, specifically to prevent exactly this kind of unsustainable expansion. His predecessors have offered similar excuses, but it was under his tenure that post-facto permits increased and demolition notices quietly disappeared.

Thakuri’s predecessors have a different story to tell.

Ritesh Portal, the former chairman of the Darjeeling municipality, said that during his tenure, he “received several complaints from tourists that the view of the Kanchenjunga peak is blocked by high-rises. We acted against illegal buildings after evaluating the risk they posed and issued 220 notices immediately.”

After stepping down from office, Portal said he has continued the fight in his personal capacity. “I was thrown out of the municipality after I started serving notices to owners of illegal buildings, one of whom is the public prosecutor. Now, as a social worker, I file public interest litigations in the high court. Its about protecting my town,” he said.

Despite multiple demolition notices, not a single illegal high-rise has been demolished in Darjeeling in the last decade. Carrying out demolitions is politically costly. In effect, notices served as bargaining chips rather than enforcement tools, leaving locals to live in high-rise buildings that the courts have declared unsafe.

Seismic Zone, Ecological Disaster, and Cloudburst Risk

When even a heavy downpour can flood Darjeeling due to its poor drainage, the impact of a cloud burst, which results in at least 100 mm of rain in an hour, would be catastrophic. Darjeeling’s slopes comprise sheared, folded, and jointed metamorphic rocks and schists, reducing their structural integrity and making them highly susceptible to water infiltration. Consequently, it often faces extreme rain-induced disasters.

Besides, it is an earthquake-prone area. Its steep slopes and soft soil make both older buildings and new high-rises especially vulnerable. Darjeeling’s vulnerability is heightened by its high seismicity, heavy monsoon rains, and urban development, which together heighten the chances of structural damage and landslides, underscoring the urgent need for earthquake-resistant city planning.

According to Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath, climate scientist and associate professor of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, “Landslides and floods are the biggest problems in these regions. So, if buildings are constructed on slopes without assessing the potential damage from heavy rains and landslides, it could cause a disaster.”

With “towns in the Himalayan region witnessing unplanned and unbridled urbanization, things could get worse if the buildings are on the slopes, without considering the flood and landslide potential in the area,” he said. Approximately 22-34 percent of the Darjeeling district is at high risk of landslides, according to recent studies. It is very vulnerable to disasters triggered by cloudbursts, similar in potential destruction to the recent flood at Dharali, but caused by different factors.

Yet, even as the mountains groan under ecological strain, another force pushes the skyline higher: the irresistible lure of tourism money.

The Economy Behind High-Rises

According to West Bengal Tourism, Darjeeling receives nearly 680,000 tourists annually, with peak occupancy in April–May and October. These numbers explain why rooms and illegal floors are being added, as these translate into profits.

Tourist Rajat Ghosh, 27, said that he “paid $85.60 for a room this year, which usually costs around $22.83. In peak season, nobody questions rates as one just grabs what’s available.” This explains why buildings grow upward despite court orders to halt construction.

“What happened in Dharali and Joshimath will happen here in Darjeeling,” said politician Ajoy Edward, who founded the Indian Gorkha Jansakti Front. Explaining the mushrooming of high rises on the town’s slopes despite court orders, he said that “a single unauthorized/illegal high-rise floor converted into a hotel or flats can earn millions of rupees within a fortnight.”

Land prices in Darjeeling’s Mall Road, Nehru Road and Laden La areas have tripled in the past decade, driven less by tea or timber than by the booming tourist economy.

An ongoing construction on a steep slope in Merry Villa Ward No. 6 reshapes Darjeeling’s historic townscape. Credit: Akash Pradhan

“Decades of neglect and weak leadership have stripped our towns of safety and dignity — where unregulated towers rise in earthquake zones and families migrate to other places for work. To survive, we must reimagine the basics through bold, climate-resilient, community-driven action,” said Vidyut Jain, joint secretary of Darjeeling’s Chamber of Commerce.

For hoteliers and contractors, the profits are irresistible: an illegal 40-room tower for either flats or hotels can generate a huge sum of money, enough to run several generations of a family.

Darjeeling Shouldn’t be the Next Dharali

“The mountain is sending us signals,” said Dawa. “In Dharali, the river engulfed hotels; in Joshimath, the earth cracked. If we don’t heed the signals, Darjeeling might be next.”

Darjeeling’s case is not an isolated one. Its problems are visible from Kashmir in the western Himalayas to Sikkim in the eastern Himalayas. From Nepal’s Melamchi to Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, the trend repeats itself across the Himalayas.

In Shimla, hotels collapsed during the 2023 monsoon. In June this year, Gangtok and Sikkim’s Teesta valley, cloudbursts tore apart dams and towns. On the other side of the border in Nepal, flooding of the Melamchi valley, which was compounded by unchecked construction, entombed homes and land in mud and slush. From Manali to Mustang, from Joshimath to Darjeeling, the cycle is the same: weak slopes, flouted laws, muffled voices.

What endures is the silence of the government and the tenacity of the common people. Meanwhile, families lie awake in fear that cracks will grow in their walls, and activists like Dawa, holding court documents and armed with profound affection for their town, soldier on.

As the fog closes in over Darjeeling, the words of Dawa hang like a shadow: “Darjeeling must not be the next Dharali or Joshimath. If we preserve it, perhaps we preserve the Himalayas as well.”

The Author Chandrani Sinha is an award-winning independent multimedia journalist based in Guwahati, Assam, India, with over a decade of experience reporting on climate change, health, and environmental issues. Her work has been featured in prominent outlets like The Third Pole, Washington Post, and Climate Home.

We are most grateful to ace photographer Raj Mohan, for kindly permitting us to use his beautiful pics to illustrate the article. Raj is a travel and landscape photographer based out of Chennai and currently living in Bangalore, India.

We are also grateful to Vivek Ghalay for permitting his pic, which has been used for the cover pic

This article was originally published in The Diplomat and has been republished here with permission

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The urgency and criticality for action is highlighted by the Centre of Science 2025 analysis of India’s Atlas on Weather Disasters  which shows that the Himalayas have faced extreme weather for 822 days since 2022 killing 2,683 people across 13 states and UTs.

The 2025 monsoon has been extremely harsh on the people and ecology of the Himalaya with a spate of big disasters. An analysis of news for 2025 shows that more than 400 lives were lost, over 35,400  houses damaged, more than 1000 roads and multiple bridges damaged as well as, loss of schools, energy facilities, army installations across eight states in the Indian Himalayan Region with an estimated loss around Rs.₹3,000–3,500 crore. This has impacted not just the wellbeing of people and ecology of the Himalaya but the millions who are dependent on the ecosystem services provided to the Ganges and Brahmaputra riverbasins downstream

We in the Himalaya, are extremely aware that we have been facing the brunt of these disasters that are the result of global forces like climate crisis as well as development pathways chosen for and by the Himalaya.  There is a need for deep introspection and creating development pathways that are mountain centric and sensitive with a long term vision that is not extractive and destructive. In the face of the climate crisis, which is predicted to worsen, there is a commitment needed at the National and International level that supports development paradigms for the Himalaya that promote resilience and wellbeing.

2025 has delivered a grave and bitter truth that Himalayan disasters are now the “business as usual” as year after year, the frequency and intensity of climate related disasters across the region have devastated lives and livelihood. Although for the Indian Himalayan Region, climate change may be driven more from outside (as IHR has a low population and lesser carbon footprint as compared to the rest of India), it is likely that human-induced climate change along with non-climatic factors has contributed to the observed intensification of heavy precipitation often reported as “Cloud Burst Phenomena”. The impacts on the ground have been severely magnified by improper planning and the overall development trajectory.

These disasters, even though reported as one off events, are interconnected and exist in a larger framework that impacts our Himalaya. They call on us as well as the larger nation state to rise up for the Himalaya and address it with appropriate action that includes immediate relief and rehabilitation but most importantly address the root causes of these disasters with a long term mountain vision. The need for the recognition of the IHR as a multi hazard landscape with a complex interplay of events across timelines and ecosystems which required to be looked at from an interdisciplinary manner and beyond single disaster events is crucial. This requires policy, practice and appropriate resource allocation. 

Integrated Mountain Initiative calls on the need to have action at multiple levels that requires national as well as local commitment so that the wellbeing of the Himalaya and downstream is ensured.

Short-Term

Early Warning and Forecasting

• Use remote sensing data/artificial intelligence to designate hotspots for infrastructure development.
  • Improve and apply satellite-based real-time monitoring and advanced weather forecasting for floods, landslides, cloudbursts and GLOF especially in designated hotspots.
  • Ensure that district-level forecasts information are shared timely and to the last mile.

Emergency Preparedness

• Awareness building and Capacity enhancement in disaster prevention and response.
  • Establish community-level disaster shelters in safe areas.
  • No earthwork in larger infrastructure projects during the monsoon period
• Revise and mandate region-specific building/road-building codes to ensure disaster resilience.

Long-Term

Adopting River basins and Mountain landscapes approach

• Establish sustainable land-use/river-basin planning with clearly designated sensitive eco-zones and hotspots.,
• Identify sensitive wetlands/springs, river banks, and any other traditional water systems for natural flood and drought mitigation.
  • Promotion of natural regeneration of forest areas and afforestation with native site-specific species, and allocate funds for eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) Any hydropower or dam investments must be as per the level of eco-sensitiveness.
• Involve local communities and key stakeholders for site specific land-use planning at  design stage and fix responsibilities for management.
  • Strengthen multi-agency coordination for effective risk assessment and disaster response.

Climate-Resilient Infrastructure

• Invest in last mile green roads, bridges, flood defenses, and slope stabilization structures built to withstand extreme weather events.
  • Update and enforce building codes to integrate local geology and hydrology for disaster resilience.
  • Run of the River small hydropower should be preferred in mountain especially in Himalaya because of earthquake vulnerabilities and floods
  • Strengthen glacial lake monitoring and early warning systems to prevent glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

Community Capacity Building

• Strengthen community-led conservation models, participatory hazard mapping, and disaster preparedness education programs and incentivize good practices.
• Expand community-based flood early warning systems (CBFEWS), leveraging digital and satellite technologies for rapid alerts.
  • Equip locals with green technologies and support sustainable livelihoods like agroforestry and ecotourism.

Policy, Research & Collaboration

• Update disaster management plans and hazard vulnerability databases, incorporating historical and local data
  • Promote inter-state and transboundary cooperation and real-time data sharing among Himalayan nations for disaster management and climate adaptation.

Integrate Resilience Building and Climate Adaptation in Development

• Mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation into all development projects, urban planning, and critical infrastructure.
  • Limit hillside cutting, concretization, and wetland reclamation through revised planning laws.
• Allocate dedicated resilience building and climate adaptation funds and incentivize risk reduction practices.

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Tenshug refers to a ceremonial and devotional request made to a great spiritual teacher to live long and continue turning the Wheel of Dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Former CST Central School for Tibetans (CST), Darjeeling, have gathered in large numbers from across the globe in McLeodganj, Dharamshala, to offer “Tenshug – a long life prayer ceremony” to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

The event, which is scheduled to be held at the Tsuglagkhang Temple Complex on the 4th of June, 2025, is a deeply spiritual and emotional occasion for the alumni, many of whom have travelled from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim, Arunachal, Nepal, Bhutan and as far as North America, Europe, and other parts of Asia. The offering of “Tenshug” represents a heartfelt plea for the continued health, long life, and spiritual guidance of His Holiness.

Tenshug (བརྟན་བཞུགས་), literally meaning “to remain steadfast,” is a traditional Tibetan Buddhist ceremony wherein disciples and followers express their devotion and request great spiritual teachers to remain in this world for the benefit of all sentient beings. The ritual typically includes symbolic offerings, long-life prayers, recitations, and the presentation of mandalas and representations of enlightened body, speech, and mind.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to express our deep gratitude to His Holiness,” said Tsultrim Dorjee, a 1997 graduate of CST Darjeeling and one of the key organizers. “Our generation owes much of our education, identity, and resilience to the guidance of His Holiness, and today we come together to offer our collective prayer for his long life.”

The event also highlighted the continued bond among CST Darjeeling alumni and their commitment to the values taught by His Holiness – compassion, education, and the preservation of Tibetan culture and identity.

The long life prayer offering comes at a significant time, as followers of Tibetan Buddhism across the world continue to draw strength and guidance from His Holiness, who remains an enduring symbol of peace, non-violence, and spiritual wisdom.

Here is the full video after meeting His Holiness

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Regional significance

Teesta Basin forms a part of the larger Brahmaputra Basin in the Eastern Himalaya. The river drains a total geographical area of about 12159 km². Around 2004 km² of the basin (about 17 percent) area lies in Bangladesh with the rest being in India. The Eastern Himalaya is considered as an important global ‘biodiversity hotspot’.

The region besides being source of varied forms of natural/bio-resources also acts as a global ecological sink. The basin currently is home to more than 30 million souls representing several social groups in Sikkim, northern West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh. Starting from the Lepcha Tribe, Ethnic Bhutias and the Ethnic Nepalis in Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalaya to the agrarian communities of North Bengal and Bangladesh, the region is the source of livelihood for several socio-cultural groups. Moreover, the basin has been source of etho-cultural and ethno-religious basis for many social groups in Darjeeling-Sikkim region since historic past.

Further, Teesta is the primary source of water to the agricultural crops of the thirsty Northern Bengal and North Western Bangladesh. Besides, other associated livelihood options including rafting, sand/stone mining and fishing also have thrived across the basin since long. Teesta basin, therefore, provides significant human and environmental security to the region and its geography milieu.

Climate Change and Teesta’s Hydro Burden

Climate change has been at the centre of the debate for the changing Himalayan geo-environment. Scientists are repeatedly warning that the Himalaya are warming comparatively faster than their lowland counterparts. The rapidly warming Himalaya has led to an acceleration of various geomorphic processes, including melting of glaciers. The rapid melting of glaciers has further given rise to many potentially dangerous Glacial Lakes, in recent times. The changes in the geomorphic processes have been rapid and dam planners/engineers were unable to foresee their increasing intensity and frequency over 25 years ago when many of the dams in Sikkim-Darjeeling hills were planned. 

In view of the inherent vulnerability of the Himalaya to various environmental, geomorphic and geologic process; scientists, researchers and activists had been warning about the unplanned and haphazard hydro development in Sikkim-Darjeeling hills for over two decades. The Governments, both Central and State,  and development proponents, however, dismissed the concerns communicated through scientific reports, papers and other means as fear mongering. They hardly take researchers and research papers seriously. Science and policy hardly work in coordination in India.  Consequently, Sikkim and Darjeeling catchment of the Teesta basin were dotted with many mega hydropower projects during much of the 2000s and 2010s. In fact, Sikkim today has one of the highest densities of hydropower projects in the country.

It is also important to understand that the Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalaya being a backward and less-researched region did not have long-term data on the table when many dams were planned and designed in the early 2000s. That is the reason why anti-dam activists often question the technical, environmental and human procedures followed by the proponents of hydropower dams in the Himalayan region including in Sikkim.  

Approval to Reconstruct the washed away Teesta-III

On October 3, 2023, the South Lhonak glacial lake in Sikkim burst causing a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) and reportedly killing 179 people, displacing thousands, and affecting over 100,000 of the population in Sikkim and downstream Darjeeling hills. The flood also washed away the 1,200 MW Teesta-III Dam located 55 km downstream at Chungthang. The lake that outburst its dam was one among many potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Sikkim Himalaya.

Less than 15 months  after the GLOF ravaged major parts of Sikkim-Darjeeling Himalaya and washed away a 60-metre-high rockfill concrete dam of the 1200-MW Teesta-III hydel project, an environment ministry panel has cleared a proposal to build a new 118.64-m-high concrete gravity dam in its place. The proposal by Sikkim Urja Ltd, the project operator, was approved by the Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on January 10. Reportedly, the EAC nod for the new dam comes in the backdrop of concerns the panel had itself raised over the structure’s safety and stability. The reconstruction plan broadly includes:

• New Design: The rebuilt dam will be a 118.64-meter-tall concrete gravity dam, replacing the previous concrete face rockfill dam. This change aims to provide greater resilience against flash floods and GLOFs.
• Increased Spillway Capacity: The spillway capacity will be significantly increased to handle potential extreme flood events, including those caused by GLOFs.
• Early Warning System: A robust Early Warning System (EWS) will be implemented to monitor glacial lakes and provide timely alerts for potential floods.
• Safety Measures: Worker safety will be improved by relocating the dam control room to a higher elevation.

However, Teesta-III dam reconstruction plan has faced significant criticism from the experts and antidam activists primarily due to concerns about safety and environmental impact following the devastating glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) of  October 3, 2023 that destroyed the dam.

Major points of criticism may be highlighted as under:

• Safety Concerns: Critics argue that the reconstruction plan does not adequately address the risks of future GLOFs, especially given the increasing frequency of such events due to climate change. They point out that the new dam design, while claiming increased spillway capacity, lacks sufficient credible data to validate these claims.
• Lack of Updated Assessments: The environmental ministry has approved the reconstruction without insisting on updated environmental and hydrological assessments, including a revised probable maximum flood (PMF) assessment, which is considered crucial in light of the changed circumstances.
• Bypassing Public Hearing: The decision to bypass a fresh public hearing is seen as a disregard for democratic principles and the rights of the local people, especially considering that the previous hearing was held in 2006 and does not reflect the current realities or the impact of disasters.
• Impact on Fragile Ecosystem: The reconstruction in a fragile Himalayan ecosystem raises concerns about long-term environmental consequences and the safety of the people in the face of potential future GLOFs and similar disasters.
• Community Concerns: Local communities have raised concerns about the project’s impact on their lives and livelihoods, as well as the potential risks of living downstream from a large dam.

Transboundary Issues

As an international river, there have been serious issues on table with regard to the management and sharing of its water between India and Bangladesh. Besides several existing and proposed mega hydro-dams in the Sikkim-Darjeeling catchment, the Government of West Bengal has diverted almost entire Teesta Water via artificial canals at Teesta (Gajoldoba) Barrage in Jalpaiguri to irrigate its thirsty North Bengal leaving little or no water for Bangladesh. It has led to the glaring decline in the basin water in the lower catchment (Bangladesh) resulting in large-scale protests against India across the spaces of Bangladesh including Dhaka. Further, in the absence of reliable data and official agreement, technical issues regarding the quantity, division and share of the waters has become the bone of contention between India and Bangladesh. We need to understand that upstream water usage determines downstream options in water management and therefore sets the stage either for conflict or cooperation. In this regard, experts often project that the next 20- 25 years shall witness depressing intra and inter-State water disputes if policy makers both in India and Bangladesh do not come up with viable solutions for the sustainable management and sharing of Teesta Water.

Discussion and ways forward!

Many argue that the October 03- 04, 2023 disaster was a direct result of insufficient spillway capacity and failure to account for GLOF risks in the original dam design. There are concerns about the accountability of financial institutions that are bankrolling the reconstruction project, given the environmental and social risks involved. Many are also calling for the decommissioning of the dam altogether, citing the immense impact it has had on local communities and ecosystems including downstream impacts and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to minimize these effects and protect the environment and communities that depend on the river.

We need to take lessons from the largely human-made GLOF disaster of October 2023 and move ahead with caution taking into account the geologic and geomorphic specificities of the region.  There is now a common voice in the region – no more dams. Sikkim should now concentrate on the efficient handling of the already constructed and commissioned hydropower projects instead of venturing into new ones. There should be proper human coordination and an Early Warning System (EWS) in place to manage its functional dams. A small mistake upstream shall have tremendous human and environmental impacts downstream as it is a common river basin that we share in the Darjeeling hills, North Bengal plains and parts of northwest Bangladesh.  Sikkim needs to evolve a comprehensive regional hydropower policy in view of its unique regional environment, ecological setup and geography. Mainstreaming of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change with hydropower policy also needs to be prioritised. There is also an urgent need to re-look India’s regional water management/ diplomacy strategy and neighbourhood policy.

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Save Teetsa – Petition for proter scientific re-examination and democratic decision-making regarding the Fate of Teesta-3 HEP in Sikkim

The Teesta is a unique glacier-fed river that flows through the ancient, spiritually significant and deeply religious landscapes of Sikkim. The cascade of river dams consecutively constructed along the Teesta basin had fueled fear and foreboding for the people of Sikkim. In Dzongu, the Lepchas had opposed the desecration of their sacred land for many years. For decades, scientists had questioned the wisdom of siting major river-valley hydroelectric projects near glacial lakes in the Himalayan region. They warned that glacial flooding someday could result in catastrophic water release, triggering a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), with devastating consequences even for regions located hundreds of kilometres downstream.

South Lhonak lake which feeds the Teesta is among the largest, fastest-expanding, and hence most hazardous lakes in Sikkim. The potential of this lake to cause widespread devastation downstream in the event of a GLOF had been noted by scientists long before the glacial-catastrophe of 3^rd October 2023. The fears expressed related to the incalculable harm that would be done to the fragile ecosystem, and also to the unique cultural fabric that had welded society together in this protected and highly vulnerable Himalaya region.

GLOFs that involve complex and cascading multi-hazard processes are fast becoming evident across steeply mountainous Holarctic regions like the Himalaya. Already reeling from the combined impact of climate change and rapid melting of glaciers, the occurrence of another GLOF event in the region is inevitable. Then ultimately, as the pattern of precipitation changes, our mountain rivers will dry up, severely impacting agriculture. habitation and drinking-water accessibility, and threatening the long-term survival of human beings and other living species, as well as the natural world.

When on 3^rd October 2023, South Lhonak lake in Sikkim burst its banks because of the collapse, which toppled frozen lateral moraine measuring 14.7 million cu. m., into the water, thus raised a tsunami-like wave measuring 20 metres in height.

The predicted multi-hazard catastrophe was triggered as about 50 million cu. m. of water drained out from the breach. The result was unprecedented and catastrophic devastation, as an estimated 270 million cu. m. of sediment flowed out, resulting in massive infrastructure destruction including hydropower installations along the Teesta River.

Innumerable lives were lost, and many more persons went missing. State and private properties were damaged. The flood washed away the 1200 MW Teesta III Chungthang Dam located 55 km downstream of the lake, and damaged several other hydropower dams further down on the Teesta River

It wasn’t only Sikkim that was hit hard. The South Lhonak Lake outburst had cataclysmic outcomes downstream in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, and Sub-Himalayan Bengal, all the way down to the where the Teesta meets and merges into the Brahmaputra River in northern Bangladesh.

Despite the warnings we received from the 2023 experience, now in January 2025, the Union Environment Ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River Valley Projects has given its approval to resume construction of the 1200 MW Teesta III hydroelectric project.

We note, with enormous concern, that,

• The EAC has given approval without any fresh environment impact assessments, public hearings, and fresh appraisals.
• The EAC has ignored and not resolved the issues raised about this project at the earlier meetings. With this decision being made in such an unscientific and undemocratic manner, we are likely to see the catastrophe repeated all over again, possibly with even greater devastation than hitherto seen. In an already challenged environment, this has grave implications for our mountains, our rivers and our people, and also for those living in areas lying far beyond.

This year, 2025, has been declared the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in collaboration with UNESCO. The effort must be focused on preserving our glaciers and their Holarctic environment in the midst of the fast-advancing effects of global warming and climate change.

We demand an immediate halt of the Chungthang Dam Project, along with all activities which further endanger our fragile environment, threatening lives and property, with brazen disregard for scientific prudence and democratic decision-making processes, including the free and prior informed consent of the people of Sikkim.

Please SIGN THE PETITION: https://www.change.org/p/save-our-rivers-the-sikkim-petition

WRITES: Debabrata Laifungbam

The post SAVE TEESTA! SAVE OUR RIVERS! SAVE OUR GLACIERS! SAVE OURSELVES! appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

The phenomenal growth of Indian economy started from 1991-92, when the then Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh accepting the doctrine of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG) opened Indian economy, for freer and less restrictive trade with the rest of the world.

Since then, India has come a long way and it is one of the fastest developing economies in the world today. Keeping in view the rapidly growing Indian economy, the significance and importance of hydro-development is immense. And not wanting to be left out, the Indian government aided by foreign direct investments (FDIs) has immersed itself in the hasty development of hydro projects across India.

The main focus of hydro development in India is North and North-Eastern states, be it the Tehri district in Uttaranchal, Subansiri in Arunachal or Kalijhora in Darjeeling; the 21st century hydro development has begun in earnest. The potential for hydro development in India as proposed by the government is immense and a modest estimate of the same has been assessed at 84,044 MW at 60 per cent load factor – if about 148,000 MW is the installed capacity. The North and North Eastern regions contain the lion’s share of this, with 54,000 and 59,000 MW respectively. Incidentally, the proposed hydro electric generation plans far exceed India’s current production capacity, which stands at around 40,000 MW, which has been achieved over a period of 60 years after India gained independence.

  

The River

Teesta is a perennial river fed by the both rain and snow-fed lake. It originates in the Himalayas from Cholamu (Tso Lhamu) Lake in Sikkim at an elevation of around 6,200 mts above the sea level and travels roughly around 415 kms before merging into the Bay of Bengal. This rapid descent of the river over a very short distance makes Teesta one of the fastest flowing rivers in the world. The slope of the river varies between 4 to 35m/km. and the velocity is about 6 m/second. The river basin is permanently covered by snow and spreads around 160 sq. kms.

Besides this, owing to the lush green watershed area, Teesta receives huge amount of additional water through rainfall. On an average total annual rainfall in the Teesta catchment area varies between 1975-2250 mm, which puts it next to Cherapunji in terms of the areas receiving highest amount of annual rainfall (in India). Besides this, the entire Himalayan region (through which Teesta flows) is deemed tectonically unstable and the entire Eastern-Himalayan region falls under seismic zone IV and V, which is rated as the areas that have high and highest earthquake occurrence chances respectively.

The rapid growth of population aided by infrastructural development and growth in forestry related activities (including logging) in the Eastern-Himalayan region has resulted in huge amount deforestation in recent years. As a result, there has been drastic change in the rainwater absorbing capacity of the soil, and scientists/locals working in the area have witnessed more run-off of rainwater as compared to past decade. This has lead to colossal amount of sediments being discharged in the river. The Teesta basin is now one of the most landslide prone areas of the country, contributing a huge sediment load to the river. According to an academic paper written by Dr. Kalyan Rudra “…the mean annual discharge of the Teesta at Anderson Bridge is about 580 cumecs (cubic meter per second) and it declines to 90 cumecs in the lean months. The peak discharge may be as much as 4,000-5,000 cumecs…”

Teesta is a part of the eastern Himalayan complex, which has been declared a biodiversity hotspot by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This whole region is endowed with rich biodiversity and is home to numerous indigenous species of the region.

The Dam

The National Hydro electric Power Corporation (NHPC) proposes to establish a staggering twenty seven hydro power stations in Sikkim and Darjeeling.  

Source: Dept of Power and Energy Govt of Sikkim in Sikkim’s Teesta River by Avilash Raul
Note: Teesta stage III and IV are located in Darjeeling

NHPC claims that the dams being built along Teesta in Sikkim and Darjeeling are ‘low and run-of-the-river dams’. However, both the dams being built in Darjeeling, Teesta stage-III at Samco ropeway and stage-IV at Coronation Bridge are technically large dams as both are 15 meters in height. International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) criteria for a large dam is anything above 15 m. in height. Further, the ICOLD also considers dams between 5-15 m. with a storage capacity of more than three million cubic meters to be large dams, which encompasses the dams being built across Sikkim. Thus, NHPC is trying to mislead the general public by classifying these projects as ‘run-of-the-river’.

The Damned

The construction, operation and output of dams have diverse social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts, which are complex to begin with and can get further complicated if handled improperly. The NHPC has a very dismal record in terms of dealing with local people while undertaking various projects. Numerous people across India have been displaced without proper rehabilitation or re-settlement plans. These people are now considered Internally Displaced Refugees (IDRs). The projected Teesta and other dams are bound to produce large scale displacement of local people and NHPC lacks any concrete plans to resettle them. For instance, the Kalijhora which houses over 115 families will submerge due to the stage IV reservoir, yet NHPC is silent about any rehabilitation programme.

The cultural impacts of the dam constructions are immense. Imagine a situation where the locals are merely 300 individuals and more than 600 individuals come from outside to construct and operate the dam. Inundated by something exotic, the locals are bound to be influenced and may end up loosing their culture and lifestyle altogether in the long run. Further, some of the areas where dams have been proposed are protected under Article 371 of the Indian constitution, in order to protect these areas from outside influence; however, this does not seem applicable to dam proponents.

Majority of the people living in these areas have always lived sustainably and they are not yet exposed to many diseases. The chances of the locals acquiring diseases like AIDS, Cancer, and Tuberculosis are multiplied significantly with increase in the number of outsiders visiting these areas.

It is significant that Sikkim is home to Lepchas “the vanishing tribe” and the protection of their culture, language and heritage is of utmost significance, which will be seriously threatened if the Government of Sikkim allows the proposed dams to be constructed. The Lepchas and environmentally conscious people in the region have taken out rallies and gone on record hunger strikes (over 275 days and counting) to generate national and international attention to their plight, but compartmentalization of press has prevented this issue from gaining any national or international significance.

The next biggest looser will be the environment. NHPC has completely ignored the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) criterion, it did not conduct proper studies and decisions regarding dam construction were made long before the environmental clearance was given by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). For instance, the stage III and IV reservoirs will submerge 156.41 ha and 359.89 ha of forest respectively, which is home to many indigenous floral and faunal species. However, NHPC merely hints this fact and calls it unavoidable.

NHPC has grossly violated the EIA norms and the studies it has undertaken has been merely to fulfill the formality, thus they are incomplete and inadequate. In many instances, locals have been threatened and cajoled for speaking against NHPC or the dams. In many instances, the public hearings have been undertaken in areas far away from the actual dam sites and notices have not been given on time and there have been instances when the ES (executive summary) have not been provided in local language (Nepali).

The average lifespan of these dams are 50 years and less depending on the amount of siltation. As stated above Teesta has massive siltation level, thus it is certain that the siltation level of the river will raise staggeringly with the construction of a series of dams and the sediment load will be trapped within the reservoirs, reducing their production capacity. This, in turn, could compel dam managers to release water during heavy rainfall, causing sudden flash floods downstream. Further, the NHPC has failed to undertake the study on the cascading effects of Dams (i.e. in case of dam breaking at the top what will happen to subsequent dams), which is likely to occur in coming days.

On June 25, 2006 a temporary Bailey bridge had collapsed at Stage-III site near Rambhi. Seven workers had died and 17 were feared dead due to that accident. On July 17, 2007 a minor breach in embankment at nearby Kalijhora had swept away machineries. This year it’s just the beginning of monsoon and the dam reservoir retention wall in Dikchu (stage-V) has been washed away, causing widespread fear and panic among the local residents of landslide and flood. A local daily aptly put it “…This recent disaster shows that NHPC has been following its policy of sailing sans social responsibility that has time and again put the lives of workers and adjacent population in danger… [while] paying no heed to geological & hydrological risks.”

The proponents of hydro development in India are more often than not backed by Multi-National Companies (MNCs) whose main objective is to earn as much profit as possible, without any consideration for factors such as environment, people, resources, culture or traditions.  Damming Teesta along with other projects as proposed by NHPC are bound to fail, as these projects are highly unrealistic and many ground rules have been ignored and over looked to get the projects going. However, the projects are underway and it is going to cause large scale damage to both human life and natural ambiance of the entire Eastern Himalayan region, if necessary steps are not taken to check the damage being done by NHPC.

The government of Sikkim and West Bengal cite development as the incentive for exploiting our rivers, but they fail to answer development for whom? The paradigm of development as such is “dead as dodo.” In an era where world over people are hankering for sustainable development, our politician still seems to be transfixed by the idea of development.

One question that I always contemplate was asked by my teacher Prof. Milindo Chakrabarty, “Why should the hills have to sacrifice to benefit the plains, is development substitutable?”

As such, Sikkim may gain some revenue at the end of all these projects, but what does Darjeeling and its people get? Nothing is the answer. I wonder why we are keeping mum on this issue. Why should we allow our land to be destroyed and our people to suffer when all we will get from this project is despair and destruction? It is high time we asked what are the benefits of these projects? What will we gain? Remember, people in Rammam, Darjeeling are still devoid of electricity, and that place supplies electricity to whole of North-Bengal.

Perhaps!! Bapu saw this day coming when he said… “God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the west… keeping the world in chains.  If [our nation] took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts.”

………………………………………………..

This writer is indebted to an unknown crusader whose site www.savetheteesta.com has been a constant source of inspiration.

This writer further acknowledges the dedication of groups like Centre for Studies in Rural Economy Appropriate Technology and Environment (CREATE), North-Eastern Society for Protection of Nature (NESPON), Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), Teesta Bachao Aandolan (TBA) and Delhi Forum, who have been fighting an endless war against government indifference, to save the environment, people and culture of our land.

This article was originally published on July 20,2008 in www.darjeelingtimes.com. Recent tragedy pics from Teesta Basin have been added to bring context to what the writer was trying to convey back in 2008.

The post The Dam and The Damned appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

This feat was exhibited yet again when Sohan Biswa from Sungma TE, Pokhriabong, Darjeeling was diagnosed as having congenital anomalies (birth defects). Sohan is a 7-year-old boy studying in class 1 who needed immediate surgery to rectify his problems as the problem was growing which was causing him lots of suffering with each passing day.

Sohan was first taken to a hospital in Darjeeling for his medical checkup and the doctors there suggested immediate surgery. However, they also informed the parents about the lack of surgeons in Darjeeling needed for the lifesaving surgery. He was then taken to one of the Private hospitals in Siliguri, where the costs of the surgery were estimated to be in the range of 70 -80 Thousand. Sohan’s parents, being tea labours, the amount was too big for them even think about it further. They tried donations and support from neighbours but that wasn’t enough.

A suggestion was also made to take him to North Bengal Medical College (or any govt hospital nearby), where this kind of surgery is supposed to be done at a very less cost than what was estimated in private hospitals. But with no availability of pediatric surgeons in NBMCH, it was suggested they take him to Sikkim’s STNM hospital.

Word of Sohan and his need reached Mr. Sanjeev Lama jyu from Chamong and he talked with his friends and contacts in Sikkim. Sohan was then transferred to Sikkim and admitted to STNM Hospital in Sikkim on 9th May. After a week-long round of checkups his surgery was completed on 18th May. The Doctors informed us that the delay was caused by his weak health. Sohan was given best possible treatment and finally got discharged on the 21st of May. For the relief of all Sohan is fine and doing well now on his way to recovery.

None of this would have been possible without the help of many good Souls from Sikkim who came forward to help a child in need.

We from Darjeeling send a big shout out to all the people who made this possible. Special Thanks to Mr. Sanjeev Lama (Chamong, Darjeeling), Mr. Pravin Khaling ji (Journalist, Sikkim), Sri D. B Chauhan ji (BJP State President, Sikkim), and a Very special thanks to Dr. K. B Gurung ji, Superintendent, STNM Hospital Sikkim. We also send our very heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Bikram Khadka ji, Pediatric Surgeon, STNM Hospital Sikkim and all his medical team for the surgery and treatment and care given to Sohan.

We would also like to thank Shri Mani Kumar Sharma ji, Honorable Health Minister, Govt of Sikkim who personally got involved to make everything goes smooth and possible for Sohan and his family.

Thank you all.

Thank you, Sikkim. May the almighty bless you all. Keep doing your good work. Jai Hos.

This news about Sohan and his recovery by the hard work of the doctors and medical staff of STNM though it elates us with happiness, it also compels us to ponder over about our own situation, STNM Hospital, Its Staff, its medical Facilities leave us wishing we had better medical facilities here in Gorkhaland region itself. We are also left wishing we had better policies to upgrade the socio-economic capacities of our people from our region. Wish we had better politicians, better policy makers here in Gorkhaland region who could think beyond the mere luster of money and power.

Some Wishful thinking.

Writes: Dipendra Dipzo

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Today, we join the Trishakti Corps in remembering them and honouring their legacy.

1967 – Here is what had happened

On the morning of October 1, 1967, a Chinese platoon got into a heated argument with a forward platoon commander (Naib Subedar Gyan Bahadur Limbu) over the ownership of a boulder demarcating the boundary at Cho La, another pass on the Sikkim-Tibet border a few kilometres north of Nathu La.

In the ensuing scuffle, the Chinese bayoneted Limbu and took up aggressive positions. The famously gritty Gorkhas (of the newly formed 7/11 Gorkha Regiment) stood their ground. The Indian troops retaliated with a fierce counterattack against their enemy – who was forming up for an assault.

Section commander Lance Naik Krishna Bahadur led this charge and was hit by thrice by Chinese bullets. Despite being unable to use his weapon, the injured braveheart nevertheless urged his men on, gesticulating with his khukri till he was killed in a machine-gun volley.

Rifleman Devi Prasad Limbu charged at the Chinese with his Khukri after all his ammunition had been exhausted, taking five of them down before he too was martyred. His raw courage was later honoured with the Vir Chakra.

Another Vir Chakra was awarded to Havildar Tinjong Lama, who used his 57mm recoilless gun to knock out a heavy machine gun being used by the Chinese to unleash withering fire. Colonel KB Joshi, the commanding officer, too personally led a company attack to recapture Point 15,450.

An intense gunbattle at Cho La pass continued for the next 10 days. The Gorkhas’ fierce reaction eventually pushed the Chinese to withdraw three kilometres to a feature named Kam Barracks, where they remain deployed to date.

In a way, at least some ghosts of the 1962 war had been laid to rest at Nathu La and Cho La. And ever since, both the passes have remained firmly under India’s control. So has Sikkim.

Heroes of “Battle of Cho La”, Sikkim:

Debi Prasad Limbu and Tinjong Lama (11 Gorkha Rifles).

Debi Prasad Limbu alone with his khukuri dismantled Chinese forward defense wall opposite point 15450. He cut off heads of 5 PLA men and killed few more. Even Chinese officer asked the Indian counterpart ‘Who the hell was he?”. They were calling him ‘Tiger of Chola!’
He was awarded Vir Chakra.

The post THE GORKHAS BRAVES – Who Bloodied Chinese Nose in Cho La, Sikkim 1967 appeared first on The Darjeeling Chronicle.

The civil society organization demanded that Sikkim Chief Minister PS Golay dismiss Khaling as his political secretary for a “fair investigation”.

“Serious allegations have been leveled against Jacob Khaling. So, we want him (Khaling) to be removed from all government posts that he is currently holding for the sake of a fair investigation,” the SNS had said.

Meanwhile, Jacob Khaling had rubbished the alleged rape case against him, saying he was not even in Gangtok on November 11, 2020 (the day of the alleged incident).

“I was in Daramdin, Soreng, and Hee Gaon from November 10, returning to Gangtok only on November 13. On November 10, I was attending the funeral of former Chief Minister Sanchaman Limboo in Hee Gaon,” he said in a press conference.

Khaling, on August 23 defended himself surrounded by the members of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha’s women wing. He stated, “Passang Sherpa is 1000% wrong, all claims are false, they are self-generated lies. A well-crafted FIR written by Bharat Basnet and through the experience of Tseten Tashi. I have filed an FIR against all three of them, along with Sonam Sherpa and a few others like Khusboo Verma and Avinash Yakha, who were plotting the rumor between me and Doncee Lama days before Sikkim Nagrik Samaj made the fake FIR public”.

The very next day, the alleged victim, who is also an SKM functionary claimed the FIR to be fake and said that the incidents mentioned in the letter had never happened.

The ‘victim’ said that accusations against Khaling, which were widely reported as ‘false’ and ‘fabricated’. She further filed a counter FIR against Sikkim Nagarik Samaj pressing defamation amongst other charges.

Amidst the controversy, on August 18th, the alleged ‘victim’ was appointed as a member of the Sikkim State Commission for Women.

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