Geo-Hydrological Study of Springs in South East Facing Slopes of Shankay Bhir, South Sikkim vis-à-vis Its Conservation and Management Through Traditional Knowledge

Many springs in Sikkim are associated with sacred grooves (devithans) as they originate within them. Sacred grooves are kept clean and are frequently monitored as they are highly valued and have a valuable place in the lives and sentiments of the local community. There are about 652 sacred grooves in Sikkim immensely regulating the springscapes of the rural areas. The presence of sacred grooves plays an important role in spring conservation as they restrict high human interference and control contamination of pristine water resources. Further, it preserves the soil moisture content owing to the large canopy coverage of the sacred trees. The aged old traditional knowledge/ecological knowledge of the community or aged old cultural practice has helped the villagers to conserve the water retaining species in the spring catchment such as Musa Sapiendis, Erythrina indica, Datura surveolens, Terminalia myriocarpa, Ficus hookeri, Musa Sapiendis, Ficus infectoria, etc. The multi-ethnic communities of the villages have adopted and practiced a range of traditional festivals to protect the water resources and sacred trees lying in the catchment of the springs including ‘Naag’, ‘Sansari’, and ‘Devi Puja’. The timely execution of rituals enables frequent cleanliness drives in the spring catchments. The cleanliness drives also help springs to maintain their water quality since they are protected from any form of contamination. The continuous monitoring of the sacred grooves further preserves springs from different forms of environmental and anthropogenic stress. Springs originating within the sacred grooves have a remarkable discharge even in the lean months as compared to the springs located outside the sacred grooves, thus effectively sustaining the discharge of the springs even during lean months.