There is a popular folk tale in Sikkim, told and retold in regions where the Lepchas live. The Lepchas are one of the three main ethnic groups of the State, the others being the Bhutia and Nepalese. The story goes that the male river Rangeet, angry after having lost a race downhill to the female river Rungnyu, turned from the spot of their proposed meeting back towards the Himalayas with an intensity that wreaked havoc in the region. In 2021, a song gave a modern twist to this folk tale. The song of resistance sung by Ongyal Lepcha goes, “I can drown everything that stands. Do tell them, so many rocks and hills I have cut through, how can these little hurdles hold me back?” The song apparently refers to the rage of the river, at the slew of hydropower projects in Sikkim.
On October 4, the song proved to be prophetic not for the Rangeet but for the Rungnyu, popularly known as the Teesta. The South Lhonak glacial lake, formed from the gradual melting of a Himalayan glacier and located about 17,000 feet above sea level in north-western Sikkim, suddenly breached its embankments and “burst”, inundating the Teesta river basin. This caused flash floods, which swept away 14 bridges and the dam of a 1,200-megawatt hydropower project, damaged 1,825 houses, claimed at least 94 human lives, and forced 2,563 displaced people into 21 relief camps, according to government data. Seventy-eight people are reported missing.
