Bengal Irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmik on Tuesday said Teesta has changed its course at eight places in the state following the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) at South Lahonak Lake in Sikkim on October 4 last year.
“Flash floods have changed the course of the river. Due to such changes, some parts of the banks of Teesta got damaged. We have identified those stretches and will take appropriate measures at the respective locations. Necessary maintenance measures will be taken in some other areas due to change in the course of the river,” Bhowmik said after attending a meeting with officials of his department at the state guest house.
Following the flash floods, many places were submerged, especially in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts. Due to the sudden flood, heavy silt accumulated on the river bed. Experts believe that the river needs to be cleaned before the next monsoon to prevent floods.
Bhowmik, who also took stock of several projects of the irrigation department in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts, said a detailed discussion was held on the issue.
“Necessary works will be started on time to avoid further damage so that people do not have to face any inconvenience in the next rainy season,” he said.
Teesta, which flows from Sikkim into Bengal through Kalimpong district, downstream to Jalpaiguri and then to Cooch Behar from where it enters Bangladesh.
The minister also told reporters that the Irrigation Department has started updating the records of land acquired for the Teesta Barrage project.
This project, which was started in 1975, is not finished yet.
Sources in the department said that about 90 percent of the records have been updated in the last one year.
“The land for the project was acquired during the tenure of the Left Front government. However, there was no record of such land. We started updating records and so far, it has been found that 5,498.40 acres of land was acquired in Jalpaiguri district, followed by Darjeeling (3,219.62 acres) and Cooch Behar (86.40 acres). This exercise will help us execute the project in future,” said Bhowmik.
As of now, 42 different projects of the department are in progress in North Bengal. Some of the projects relate to repair of embankments and preventive measures to stop erosion, he said.
rejuvenation
The state irrigation department will take the initiative to revive Phuleshwari and Jorapani, two drains flowing through Siliguri from March. The Trinamool Congress-led Siliguri Municipal Corporation has also requested the department to rejuvenate another stream, Maheshmari.
