Sikkim’s commission on glacial lake outburst floods and other glacial hazards has submitted an eight-point report to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, setting out a strategy to strengthen the Himalayan state’s preparedness, resilience and response systems.
Commission chairman Akhilesh Gupta handed over the report to Tamang in Gangtok on Saturday in the presence of Pintso Namgyal Lepcha, Sikkim’s minister for forests and environment. The report was prepared by a panel constituted after the devastating South Lhonak Lake glacial lake outburst flood in October 2023.
According to sources in the chief minister’s office, the Sikkim government formed the commission on September 11, 2024, to develop a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for mitigating glacial hazards across the state. The recommendations cover preparedness, resilience and response mechanisms, although the specific measures in the report were not disclosed in the information available.
The National Disaster Management Authority has identified 189 glacial lakes across the Indian Himalayan region as highly vulnerable. About 40 of these lakes are located in Sikkim, including 16 categorised as high-risk lakes. The figures place the state at the centre of national efforts to monitor and manage risks linked to rapidly changing high-altitude environments.
Following the October 2023 South Lhonak Lake GLOF, Sikkim intensified monitoring of its glacial lakes. The disaster caused extensive damage in the Teesta basin and affected settlements and infrastructure downstream, prompting renewed attention to early warning systems, hazard mapping and the resilience of roads, bridges and other public assets in the state. The commission’s report now provides the state government with a formal framework for taking those efforts forward.
A glacial lake outburst flood occurs when water held behind a natural ice or moraine dam is suddenly released. The resulting surge can travel rapidly downstream, threatening communities, roads, bridges, hydropower infrastructure and other facilities located along river valleys. In Sikkim, the concentration of settlements and transport links around narrow Himalayan river corridors makes monitoring and response an important administrative and infrastructure responsibility.
A source in the chief minister’s office said the report sought to position Sikkim as a model Himalayan state for glacial hazard mitigation. Tamang said the government would implement the recommendations with determination and a spirit of collective responsibility. He also said initiatives arising from the report could help establish Sikkim as a model for glacial hazard mitigation across the Himalayan region.
The report’s submission comes as authorities continue to manage other hazard-related pressures in the state. A landslide above Rimbi in West Sikkim, around 120 kilometres from Gangtok, led residents of the affected village to move to safer locations on Sunday. The district administration said it was monitoring the mudslide and taking measures to reduce the threat to nearby houses.
The state’s disaster preparedness is also linked to the reliability of its road network. A 58-metre Bailey bridge over the Balason river at Dudhia, along the Siliguri-Mirik route, is scheduled to remain closed for 12 hours from 6am on September 15 for maintenance. The bridge, built jointly by the Indian Army and the state public works department, has a width of 3.75 metres and a load-bearing capacity of nine metric tonnes. It opened to the public in July and provides direct road connectivity between Mirik, adjoining areas, Siliguri and the plains.
The Sikkim government’s next step is to take forward the commission’s eight recommendations and continue monitoring vulnerable glacial lakes and related hazards across the state.
