Lessons for Sikkim from Uttarakhand

There is an ongoing debate regarding the devastation this north Indian state has witnessed, as being engineered by the activities of man or an act of nature. However, the overwhelming verdict seems to be that it is the result of human activities.

In this era of globalization, privatization and liberalization economic development has become the paramount concern for everybody even at the cost of social and environmental degradation. Economic development has led to unequal growth leading to the ever widening gap between the haves and the haves not. Environment also has had to pay its own price which has resulted in the loss of natural as well as human resources. Environment has been exploited beyond repair and it has avenged itself in the form of landslides, cloudburst, floods, tsunami and other natural calamities. However, man has shown no respect for environment and nature and has kept on exploiting her without paying any attention to her warnings.  

What has been the most glaring of all forms of environmental exploitation? Is it deforestation, changing the course of the river system thereby damaging the hydrology, construction of dams and restricting the natural flow of water, urbanization and building of roads which the hill slopes of the young Himalayas cannot support? All these are responsible for what has happened in the state of Uttarakhand.

Sikkim is also a small state in the young Himalayas and all the activities mentioned above are taking place to enhance its economic growth and bring about development. The only highway which connects the state of Sikkim to the rest of India is constantly disrupted owing to frequent landslides. The volume of traffic has increased in the state beyond comprehension, a result of  the newly acquired  economic status. This increase in the volume of traffic is not supported by the roads there and to correspond with the growing number of vehicles the road is being constantly widened cutting the fragile slopes of the young Himalayas. This has its collateral damage in the form of deforestation and the loss of very rare species of flora and fauna. Due to the growth of vehicular traffic and its movement the level of pollution is also rising which also has its share on the environmental degradation of the state. The often heard political statement in Sikkim is that the government is trying to make Sikkim another Switzerland but the point being missed is that the former is in the Alps which is far older mountain system and is stable than the young Himalayas therefore the developmental model undertaken has to consider this as well.

Sikkim as many of the other Himalayan states has a huge potential to generate hydro electric power. Therefore it is one of the hot spots where dams are being conceived along with other north eastern states of India. The paradox related to environment and development seen in Sikkim is in line with the arguments made by emerging Green Political theories which have argued that economic growth and environmental crisis are positively related thus greater economic development would call for additional environmental damage (Paterson 2001). The state has embarked upon building dams of different sizes and at different places along the course of river Tista. This has had its own share of environmental degradation. People have been asked to move away from their homes and habitats. The cultural affinity between the people and the place is lost. Water is stored beyond the capacity of the river and during monsoon when there is rainfall water is released beyond the carrying capacity of the river thereby posing danger to the people living near the river banks. Especially the people of Singtam are in a danger of catastrophic event like the one witnessed in Uttarakhand. The area can submerge if anything like what happened in Kalijhora is to happen again. The incident in Rongli, East Sikkim, is another reminder to the people of Sikkim and the government that nature can make this earth a wretched if its warnings are not paid heed to and if it is exploited.

Rapid urbanization also poses a threat to the state. My friend’s mother who visited Sikkim a year ago lamented that Sikkim has become an urban jungle. High rise buildings and concretization of the place is taking place at a rapid pace. Though the government has some policy in place to take mitigate such growth, such constructions are pressurizing the ground below and god forbid that something like the September 18 were to happen again. If that is not taken as a warning there is a huge price to pay for in the future.

The influx of tourist is a good for economic reasons to the state of Sikkim. To accommodate the large number of tourists hotels are being constructed which is adding up to the already fragile ground reality. The inflow of tourist is forcing the state to urbanize more. Gangtok, by virtue of it being the capital of the state has become the center of all forms of urbanization. Huge population growth, concretization and lack of basic amenities have become its characteristic. The concentration of people in one particular place increases its population density and in case of any kind of hazards, both natural and man made, the chances of losses to both lives and property is bound to be heavy.

Luckily for the state of Sikkim there is only river Tista to confront with unlike the state of Uttarakhand where the tributaries of Ganga played havoc. If it is to show its anger like what Mandakini, Bhagirathi and others did in the state of Uttarakhand then Singtam and its people face the utmost danger. Not to mention, Dzongu, the cradle of civilization and identity for the Lepchas is also in the danger of being submerged. All the urban centers in the state vis a vis Gangtok, Singtam, Namchi and Rangpo are in a danger of being destroyed, beyond repair, in event of any earthquake of higher magnitude occurring in the state.

The state needs to be prepared for any kind of untoward incident in the future. Institutions of the state needs to be proactive from now onwards as this is a very possible threat to the state. For being prepared the state has to make use of Sikkim University and especially the Departments of Geography and Natural Resources Management in general and the Department of Earth Sciences in particular, which was envisaged to look after such needs of the state.