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Mirik and Sumendu Lake | Photo

By on October 28, 2011 in Darjeeling Photos, Photography - my passion
Sumendu lake, Mirik, Dist. Darjeeling

Mirik is a small hilly town in the district of Darjeeling and is most famous for its lake fenced by pine trees on one side and the other spreading towards the township. The lake is fed by small perennial streams and is at an altitude of about 5800 ft. The lake is about 2.5 km long and offers the most refreshing view.

I had taken this photo sometime ago, but had never shared publicly. Here you go!

Apart from the Sumendu lake, another attraction is the Buddhist monastery – Bokar Ngedon Chokor Ling Monastery. Founded in 1984, it is the center for monastic training, sustaining the ways of Shakyamuni Buddha. The biggest structure in red with the yellow roof on the left top hill is the Mirik monastery.

The other fascinating thing about the whole of Mirik valley is the number of tea gardens it holds. As one travels from Darjeeling to Mirik, numerous Darjeeling Tea plantations fall on the way eg. Okayti, Gopaldhara, Sourenee etc. Thurbo is one prominent tea garden which is just about 2 kms from Mirik. It has a picturesque landscape mostly surrounded by Darjeeling Tea gardens all over.

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Darjeeling and Kanchenjunga

By on October 25, 2011 in Darjeeling Photos
darjeeling-kanchenjunga-tea-estates

This is a photo which I had taken sometime back with my manual slr camera. Its a view of Mt. Kanchenjunga as seen from Darjeeling town. Mt. Kanchenjunga is the third highest peak in the world with a height of 8,586 m. It is believed that the most spectacular view of the whole mountain range of Mt. Kanchenjunga is seen from Darjeeling town. It is also believed that the early British settlers, apart from other historical reasons, chose this place due to its scenic beauty and climatic conditions which resembled that of England. In the photo, you will see a part of Darjeeling town on the right and the lower part of the hills constitute some Darjeeling Tea plantations. Further off are the hills of Sikkim.

Apart from the Darjeeling Tea industry, Darjeeling is blessed with nature’s scenic beauty and this view is one view which Darjeeling can be proud of. Hoards of tourists flock to Darjeeling every year, some to see the land where their favorite Darjeeling Tea grows and some to just get a glimpse of the view above.

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Sikkim-Darjeeling Earthquake toll rises to 40, relief in full swing

By on September 19, 2011 in darjeeling

GANGTOK, 19 SEPT: The toll in the powerful earthquake rose to 40 with 19 people being killed in Sikkim, five in West Bengal, seven each in Nepal and Tibet even as rescue and relief operations were today stepped up in the affected areas. Parts of Latur and Parbhani districts of Maharashtra today experienced mild tremors measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale, the meteorological department here said.

More than a hundred people have been injured in the 6.8 magnitude tremblor which has caused extensive damage to buildings and roads in Sikkim and several other places. The casualties have occurred mostly in the North District and in towns and villages like Rangpo, Dikchu, Singtam and Chungthang located along the course of Teesta river, they said.

In Gangtok, power was restored this morning. Residents had spent the night outside their houses fearing aftershocks. At least 20 aftershocks throughout the night had created panic in the city. Rescue teams have been dispatched to various affected areas this morning, the officials said. The toll in Sikkim till last night was seven.

In West Bengal, the toll rose to five with reports reaching Kolkata saying that two deaths have occurred in Kalimpong area in Darjeeling while one person each was killed in Siliguri and Jalpaiguri areas and one in a tea garden in Doors.

Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported that at least seven persons had been killed and another 22 injured in Tibet in the quake which has caused landslides and has disrupted traffic, power and water supplies as well as telecommunication in Yadong county, 40 km from Sikkim. Three people were killed at Lainchaur in Kathmandu, two in Sunsari district, and one each in Dhankuta and Sankhuwasabha districts in eastern Nepal, according to home ministry sources in the Nepalese capital.

Many buildings in and around Gangtok have collapsed and around 85 per cent of structures and houses have developed cracks owing to the quake that hit Sikkim and other areas last evening, they said. Most of the areas in north Sikkim have been cut-off from the rest of the country as roads were blocked and communication lines got snapped.
The Sadar police station in Gangtok was badly damaged. All BSNL telephone landlines in the city are dead since last evening. The epicentre of the quake ~ the biggest in two decades ~ was at Mangan and Sakyong areas, more than 50 km from Gangtok on the Sikkim-Nepal border. In Bihar, two persons were killed in Nalanda and Darbhanga districts, official sources said. A five-year-old girl and a youth were the two victims, they said. Tremors were also felt in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Delhi.

Four teams of National Disaster Response Force have been sent to Sikkim and five more teams were on their way from Kolkata, Cabinet secretary Mr Ajit Kumar Seth told reporters last night after a meeting of top officials in Delhi convened on the direction of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. “The Prime Minister himself is monitoring the developments connected to the quake,” Mr Seth had said.

Tremors in Maharashtra were felt early this morning in some parts of Osmanabad and Solapur districts. While no damage to life or property was reported, people panicked and rushed out of their houses fearing aftershocks. According to a  meteorological department Press release, the tremors were recorded at 6.22 a.m. at Latitude 18.8 degree north and Longitude 76.8 degree east,said.

Source: PTI

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