Tshering Eden
21 Apr 2026
An unusually dry winter in Gangtok has exposed the vulnerability of water systems in Himalayan urban centres, as authorities were forced to ration supply following a sharp drop in discharge from the Ratey Chu, the city’s primary source.
“We are getting water once in the morning and the flow of the water is also weak. Thank god for the nearby dhara [spring] otherwise it would have been very difficult for us,” says Chunzom Ongmu [45], a resident of Arithang, Gangtok.
She informs that she washes clothes in the nearby spring while the water coming directly to her house is used for cooking and other household chores.
This winter, the Public Health Engineering [PHE] Department reduced water supply to homes in Gangtok to once a day from the earlier twice a day after water discharge from the city’s main source, the Ratey Chu river, dropped by nearly 60 percent following an unusually dry winter. While the city faces water shortage due to damaged pipelines now and then, this was the first time that the water shortage was due to reduction at source.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ratey Chu itself receives water from a snow-fed lake called Hans Pokhari higher up above Gangtok in what is known as the Tamzye area. The area is near the Indo-China border and falls in the eastern part of Sikkim.
From 01 January till 21 February 2026 there was no rainfall in Gangtok district while the expected normal precipitation during these months is 055.2 mm. It was only towards the end of February that there was some rainfall of 017.1 mm recorded, as per the Met Centre Gangtok.
On the other hand, we are seeing increased rainfall levels in March with Gangtok district recording 218% more than normal rainfall from 01-24 March 2026. Gangtok received 240 mm of rainfall as compared to the normal level of 75.5 mm.
The PHE Department held a press conference to announce the water rationing system in February earlier this year. Addressing the press conference, PHE Secretary, Shailendra Sharma said that climate change is causing depletion of water sources while the population is increasing leading to an imbalance in demand and supply.
Talking to this reporter, Mr Sharma showed a photo pointing out the dip in water levels at Ratey Chu intake point compared to last year. While there is no baseline data to draw any comparisons from, he informed that he has directed staff to document water levels every year on 15 February starting this year.
Scientific Officer, Department of Science and Technology, Dr Narpati Sharma, shares that for the past 2-3 years the onset of snowfall has been late in Sikkim.
"This is a problem because when it snows in Nov-Dec, the snow stays still March-April and gets time to percolate and recharge the water sources. However, when it snows late like this year in March, the snow will melt quickly due to the onset of summer in April leaving little time to percolate," he informs.
Meanwhile, the PHE Secretary informed of a project in the pipeline which is funded by the Asian Development Bank under its North Eastern Region Capital Cities Development Investment Program (NERCCDIP) which seeks to improve existing infrastructure, environmental quality and access to basic urban services of Gangtok municipal corporation area. Under this initiative, an alternate water supply source has been identified which is the Bhusuk Khola [river] which will ease the burden on Ratey Chhu.
“We have completed one round of documentation with the Asian Development Bank [ADB] and they got back with their observations. We responded to these observations on 30 March 2026. If there are no more comments from ADB, we hope to start the tender process by the end of April this year,” informs Project Director, Sikkim Integrated Urban Development Project, Urban Development Department, Bhupendra Kuthari.
The ₹104.49 crore project aims to meet the 11 million litres per day demand of the rapidly expanding Tadong area of Sikkim’s capital city, Gangtok. Under this project, water will be drawn from the Bhusuk Khola to supply five zones in Tadong, stretching from Amdo Golai to the Forest Check Post near Mayfair Spa Resort. The project is expected to ease pressure on the Ratey Chhu system, which currently caters to most of Gangtok, including Tadong. While the Ratey Chhu is located on the western front of Gangtok, Bhusuk khola falls in the eastern part of the city.
Apart from the Bhusuk Khola project, the authorities remain focused on improving usage behaviour and avoiding wastage to address the problem. Not enough is being done about the health and sustainability of water sources. The Science and Technology department has been asked to survey the Tamzye area to inspect the health of these sources but due to inclement weather the team had not been able to reach these areas till March of this year.
STATE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
Sikkim’s Climate Action Plan is considered more focused on adaptation than on mitigation like most state plans of the country. Harvesting rainwater, reviving springs, increasing water storage capacity are some of the strategies suggested to fight climate change induced water stress.
Some hindrances in the implementation of the National and State Climate Action Plans have been identified by the central government as ‘institutional, systemic and process barriers, including financial restrictions, issues with interdepartmental coordination, and lack of technical expertise.’
To address these problems the centre has come up with the City Investments To Innovate, Integrate and Sustain [CITIIS] program. The Sikkim Urban Development Department is working with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and National Institute of Urban Affairs under this program.
CITIIS 2.0 program envisages strengthening climate governance mechanisms for climate action through data-driven planning and capacity building. Under Component 2, INR 264 crore (EUR 30 million) have been allocated to support States & Union Territories with climate action.
States will be awarded grants to assist them in strengthening existing climate governance mechanisms for climate action.
State Mission Director, DAY- National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), Jigme Wanghcuk Bhutia, who recently represented Sikkim at the CITIIS 2.0 Component 2 – North Eastern Regional Workshop for State-Level Actions held in Guwahati on 11 March 2026, informed about the CITIIS program stating that Sikkim has set up a committee to implement the program.
“Only Assam and Sikkim have set up these committees. Once all the states set up the committees, NIUA will begin training for the program,” he informed.
One concrete policy intervention that Sikkim is considering is the protection of natural springs, an important source of water in both urban and rural areas.
“The state government is in the process of making a legal framework to protect springs in urban areas,” informs Chief Town Planner, Urban Development Department, Dinker Gurung.
This would ensure that springs do not get blocked and lost altogether during construction of concrete structures over them, he adds.
THE SCENARIO ON GROUND
Parvati Bhattarai [32] lives in a rented accommodation in Sichey, Gangtok, and recalls the dry winter days.
“The water rationing did not really bother me because there is a spring near where I live. This winter I collected water from this spring everytime the water supply was not enough,” she shares.
For those not lucky enough to live near a spring there are commercial water suppliers who sell water in tanks.
Kumar Rai [45] collects water from a stream near Bakthang falls in Gangtok and sells it to mostly hotels in the city. Two large Sintex tanks on the back of a utility vehicle can cost anywhere from Rs 2500 to Rs 3500 depending on the location of delivery, he informs.
“This winter the water level in this stream was also very low,” he shares.
There are seven trucks run by different people that collect water from here and sell, he adds.
On the well-known MG Marg of Gangtok sits one of the oldest hotels of Sikkim, Hotel Tashi Delek. Water shortage this winter meant hauling in 2-3 loads of these trucks everyday.
“It is not even season time and we are already facing some scarcity. Even if just 20 rooms are full we have to buy water. One truck of 6000 ltrs of water costs us Rs 4500,” says Abdul Khalek [46], an employee of the hotel. He is talking not just of this winter’s shortage but of a common phenomena come tourist season.
Former forest officer and environmentalist, Usha Lachungpa affirms that climate change is real.
“Gangtok does not have a glacier-fed water source but they are all snow fed sources which have small reserves of water. But the population of Gangtok has exponentially expanded which is the reason behind the water shortage problem. This winter was very dry and so there was not enough snow to recharge these water sources,” she stated further adding that we need to be wiser in our use of water as well.
She further warns that Tamzye will not be enough for the city in the near future and a solution needs to be worked out.