Earthquake jolts Sikkim, hits life hard

Even as
normal life in the hills and the plains of Sikkim and North Bengal
has been hit hard with the 6.8 quake claiming over 74 victims in the
course of 48 hours, the business scenario in Sikkim is reported to
have remained the same at a slow pace. The quake was reported to have
rocked North Sikkim with Lachung, Lachen, Jorthang, Rangpo, Dikchu,
Singtham and Chungthang bearing the brunt of nature's revenge.

The capital,
Gangtok seems to have been spared of the major calamity. “The
northern part of the state is devastated. In Gangtok, however, the
tremors caused some landslides and blockades along the roads and some
buildings have collapsed. Since Gangtok is 40 km away from the
epicenter of the quake surrounded by the major mountain ranges, the
capital seems to have been minorly affected,” said Arun Kumar Singh
of Gangtok-based, Bright Computers.

“In
Gangtok, power went off soon after the tumble. Residents spent the
night outside their houses fearing aftershocks. There were at least
20 aftershocks throughout the night which created a panic in the
city. Moreover, the road network and telecommunications system have
been seriously affected,” he added.

Although
there have been 25 major blockades on account of hill slides on the
connecting road from Siliguri, the Indian Army and ITBP have been
reported to swiftly remove the debris. “The situation in Gangtok is
not acute. While the northern part is devastated with several
casualties and more presumed to be dug out, the tremors indeed spared
Gangtok from any major calamity,” added Ajeet Obroi of
Tadong-based, Innovations.

Although the
state capital is not under a stage of disarray, business seems to
have remained at the normal tempo with the dealers in Gangtok
reporting no or negligible losses. Although the footfall remains
little throughout the year, business does not seem to have taken a
backseat in the state. “The state government has issued a 3-day off
for local businesses across the state due to emergency. Although
there has been a major calamity, I don't fear much business loss,”
said Singh.

“Business
is usually slow in the hills throughout the year, but there is
nothing considerable on account of landslides. Tremors were felt in
north-east of Darjeeling district where major loss took place. The
central part of the district has remained more or less unaffected,”
said Rajesh Singh of Darjeeling-based, Cyber Dyne.

Although the
channel partners have unanimously stated to have suffered minimal
losses on account of the quake and the road-works progressing at a
gigantic pace, the distribution hub of North Bengal, Siliguri, seems
to have bore the brunt with the business scenario looking gloomy. Not
only did the area suffer tremendous business losses on account of GJM
demand for more autonomy in the hill region with several bandhs
taking place since the past 6 months, the case is further deepened by
the ongoing natural calamities.

“Besides
the earthquake, we are suffering from heavy downpour for a long time.
With the festive season knocking on our doors, it would have been a
good time for business. But with showers and quake ruining the peak
business time, I am quite sceptical about the season,” said Rajesh
Lahiri of Siliguri-based, Digital Infotech.

The 6.8
Richter scale quake wrecked havoc on the north-western boundaries of
the district but the vital roads connecting the 'seven sisters'
have been left totally unaffected. Connectors to Cooch Behar and
Malda are also reported to be functioning normally. “The recovery
is progressing at a healthy pace and the links to Gangtok and some
remote regions in Sikkim have been re-established. As of now, I don't
foresee any major effect over logistics”, added Obroi.

Although the
business momentum doesn't seem to have been lost in the hills, the
channel partners are sceptical about the forthcoming Sikitex, a
premier IT exhibition and conference. “Under the present scenario,
the government will be busy in reconstruction and launching more
rescue operations. Already a state of emergency is felt across Sikkim
and under such circumstances, I think that Sikitex will be
postponed,” concluded Singh.