In my meanderings since the last monsoons (Sep2007), not over mountains but on the internet and while leafing thru pamphlets and magazines one name which came up very often was that of Leszek Starkel. Then I came across "Rains, landslides and Floods in the Darjeeling Himalaya", a book published by the Indian National Science Academy and co-edited by Professors N Sathyamurthy, S Basu and L Starkel.
To cut a long story short, Professor Leszek Starkel is a full member of the Dept of Geomorphology and Hydrology, Institute of Geography and Spatial Org, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland. He is the recipient of numerous international awards and leading international authority in this field. He has been studying landslides in this part of the world for many decades.
I sent him an email some time back and got a reply from him a few days ago.
I reproduce a part of the Professor's reply below:-
_______________________________________________
Dear Mr Rao,
Before Christmas I got your mail with long set of information
about landslides and activity of your team in Kalimpong. I am very
impressed by your work and I am ready to cooperate with STH
action.
I arrived first time to
catastrophic rain and surveyed many landslides in
Kurseong division. In last years I try to come every year. In 2004
with prof. S.R.Basu from
seminar on landslides till Gangtok. I continuosly monitor great
Ambootia landslide. Last November with prof. S.Sarkar from NBU
we continued studies on floods in Doars from Lish-Gish-Chel upto
Torsa and Jainti rivers. I know that near
were formed new slides but I was on the way to Meghalaya and
had no time to go there. Very important are the rainfall records
(daily!) from September 2007 and I would be glad to receive them
from Darj. Planters Assoc.
I hope to come again in November this year to
suggest to meet you in Kalimpong and
With kind regards
L.Starkel
____________________________________
I am glad that a leading international figure appreciates the work of savethehills.praful rao
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