Teesta Barrage along Indo-Bhutan border. (Source: Google Maps) Teesta Barrage along Indo-Bhutan border. (Source: Google Maps)

North Bengal Development Minister in the West Bengal government, Rabindranath, Ghosh on Saturday said that the state government was pushing for the formation of an “Indo-Bhutan Joint River Commission” with the Centre to be able to address the issue of frequent flooding in the northern areas of the state. Bengal shares it northern border with Bhutan, and most of the Bhutan rivers flow through this region before entering Bangladesh. Speaking with The Indian Express, Ghosh said that initial estimates show that Bengal has incurred loss of at least Rs 1,000 crores in the recent floods.

India and Bangladesh have a Joint River Commission where issues pertaining to the Teesta and the Brahmaputra are discussed.

While the flood situation stabilized in the Dooars, excessive rainfall from last night has led to the overflowing of the Farakka Barrage in Malda district. After completing his meeting on mitigating measures for flooding in Siliguri on Friday, Ghosh rushed to Malda. “There is a 500 metre bandh near the Farakka which has broken due to excessive rainfall, which started at 8.30 pm last night. As many as 110 homes have been swept away,” said Ghosh adding that the residents had escaped and were being kept in relief camps at Binnagar. A BDO has been kept on standby near the area. The incident took place approximately two kilometers from the Farakka barrage.

“We have been pushing for the river commission. We had appraised our Chief Minister of the matter before her visit to Bhutan and she had raised it with the officials there. The problem is that we neighbor Nepal, Bihar and Bhutan. And whenever there is flooding there, they let out the excess water to Bengal. And the seven districts in North Bengal, as in this year as well, are always the worst hit. Bhutan is especially a problem. There are 72 rivers in Bhutan that flow through these seven districts before entering Bangladesh. And they don’t really have a system of dams or bandhs by which to control excess water,” said the Minister.

Ghosh added that broke in Budhin area of Bhutan has led to fresh flooding in North Bengal. Irrigation Minister Rajib Bannerjee has reiterated Ghosh’s demand for a river commission between the two countries at Friday’s meeting in Siliguri.

Last year the matter had been taken up with the Union Minister for Water Resources but the Bengal Ministers say that no headway has been made on the matter. The Bengal government plans to pitch proposals for the construction of barrages and water reservoirs in Bhutan and in some places in north Bengal to regulate the flow of water. Deposition of dolomite dust and pebbles, boulders and trees flowing down from Bhutan in Bengal’s river beds is another issue that needs to be taken up, said officials in the government. Bhutan carries out Dolomite mining near its rivers. Because of the deposition from the Bhutan rovers, the riverbeds in Bengal become higher and banks are breached often, creating flood like situations. Dolomite deposit further reduces the fertility of the land and therefore large tracts of land in north Bengal, which is a prime tea growing area in the country, become non-cultivable.

The Jaldhaka, Diana, Kaljani, Torsha, Leesh, Geesh and Raidak are some of the major rivers from Bhutan that flow through Bengal.

Saying that at least 66,000 people in Bengal have been affected by the floods this year, Ghosh added that the state government was constructing temporary barrages in most rivers. “Some rivers are so large that it is not possible to construct the temporary barrages under such circumstances. But we hope that the barrages being constructed will help control and mitigate the flooding,” he told The Indian Express.

Ghosh said that at least 100 tea gardens across North Bengal have been inundated. “But it’ll be at least a week before we have initial estimates as to the losses from the tea gardens. The Rs 1000 crore loss estimate is based on the infrastructure destroyed in this year floods. Bridges across North Begal have been swept away and crops have been ruined,” he said.

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