Gangtok, Namchi face water crisis after landslide sweeps away main water pipeline

People of Namchi might be facing water shortage for the next 2-3 days, PHE officials said

By Prakash Adhikari

Heavy torrential rain that barrelled through several parts of Sikkim including Rateychu and Ravangla yesterday has extensively damaged the water pipelines including the main water pipeline tank at Ravangla that was swept away by rain triggered landslide leaving the people of capital city Gangtok and Namchi facing a huge water crisis.

Huge quantities of debris and boulders accumulated at the intake source at Rateychu that has damaged the entire water supply pipelines disrupting water supply to Gangtok city. Restoration work is underway for clearance of the debris and boulders. Water supply to Gangtok is expected to normalise by tomorrow evening, officials said. Till then water supply will be catered from local sources with less discharge. Therefore, supply from the Selep reservoir tank to the zonal tank will be done once a day till situation normalises.
“Hospital, other important offices shall continue to have uninterrupted water supply,” the official said. He also regretted the inconvenience.

In Namchi town, almost 12,000 people are facing water shortage since yesterday and the crisis could last for 2-3 days, officials of the Public Health and Engineering, the department that maintains the water pipelines said.

The crisis happened after a massive landslide swept away the main pipeline trunk following heavy rainfall in Ravangla Byepass near Ravangla.

This is the second time that the water trunk has been swept away by landslide in that area. Assistant Engineer of PHE, Namchi Subdivision, Sonam Karthak said that the condition is worse this time. It was also informed that the people of Namchi may have to face water shortage for the next 2-3 days.

On June 2021, the same water trunk was swept away by landslide, and the whole town had to survive on water provided by PHE department through trucks and tankers, for more than a month’s period.

PHE Namchi Subdivision has blamed NHIDCL and Nagen Company for the pipeline trunk getting washed away. According to PHE, while building national highway and tunnels along the pipelines proper measure were not taken leaving the pipelines vulnerable to landslides and damages during hill-cutting.

There has been no public complaints regarding threat to their homes and farms like before, the PHE department said.

PHE has begun work for installation of 6 inches pipelines for providing minimum amount of water to the public of Namchi.

However, the connection through perennial sources of water, prepared by PHE department earlier, will not be able to support the town, because of the lack of water on those sources, owing to the late monsoon this year, Sonam informed.

The continuous rainfall and the heavy fog may effect the restoration of pipelines, and the process still remains hazardous to the life of the workers.

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