Hello,

It has been a little less than two years since the boundary of a glacial lake in north-western Sikkim gave way, leading to massive flooding downstream, in the state and in West Bengal.
The devastating flood killed at least 55 people in Sikkim and at least two in West Bengal. It also wrecked numerous homes and commercial establishments along its path, leaving people’s livelihoods shattered.
Two years later, locals are deeply dissatisfied with the government’s response to the tragedy. Vaishnavi Rathore spoke to families who remain in relief camps, and say that the compensation they received was not enough to help them rebuild their lives.
Not only that, locals and activists are dismayed that though dams along the path of the flood exacerbated the damage in October 2023, the government is proceeding with plans to rebuild the biggest one – the Teesta Stage III dam at Chungthang, which was wrecked in the 2023 flooding.
“Walking over a cracked road in North Sikkim, we arrived at a row of houses that had collapsed completely because the slope of the mountain kept sliding after the flood,” Rathore said. “At the same time, a group of children returning from school hopped and skipped over the cracks on the road, chatting away. I realised how living with the disaster’s effects for more than a year and a half had made it the new normal for them.”

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Ajay Krishnan
Senior Editor

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Swept away by glacial flood, Sikkim dam is being rebuilt – but lives downstream remain shattered

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