‘Hydel projects on Teesta River a growing cause of concern’

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 22 Aug 2024, Darjeeling: “Hydel projects in ecologically fragile regions have been coming up over the past few years without giving adequate thought to their cumulative environmental impacts. 

Dams on the Teesta are the prime, but not the only, example of how in the name of development ecology is being fundamentally altered, with grave consequences for this and future generations,” stated Jairam Ramesh, MP and General Secretary (Communications,) 

All India Congress Committee commenting on the spate of calamities that have struck Sikkim and contiguous areas, including a major landslide that had struck at Dipudanra, Balutar in Singtam, Sikkim on Tuesday, damaging Teesta Stage V project. 

Concerns have been raised from different quarters regarding the frequent landslides in this region that has thrown hill life out of gear. 

The strategically important National Highway 10, the lifeline of Sikkim, has been closed for more than two months owing to this. 

In “the Landslide Blog” Dave Petley, widely recognised as a world leader in the study and management of landslides, wrote, ”...a familiar issue in the Himalayas large energy infrastructure projects, costing hundreds of millions of US dollars, are being repeatedly destroyed by landslides and debris flow. 

It is clear that the planning of these projects is repeatedly failing to adequately consider both the complex geological settings and the occurrence of events that can cause complete loss of these pieces of infrastructure.” 

The situation is only going to get worse, prophesied Petley. “The rate of warming caused by anthropogenic climate change in these high elevations is rapid and we have strong evidence from around the world that this is increasing the rate at which large rock slope failures are occurring. 

Furthermore, data from just this year shows that higher temperatures are causing more intense rainfall and thus more landslides,” wrote Petley and added: “This is an urgent issue- many more hydroelectric projects are being planned in the Himalayas, but it appears no action is being taken. 

We cannot continue like this.” Even concerns have been raised from political circles. “These natural disasters, like the October 2023 catastrophe (read GLOF) and the recent landslides, have become commonplace due to ecological destruction and unplanned constructions. 

A spate of hydro projects on the Teesta River has caused the river to become more flood-prone, washing away sections of the NH10,” stated Ramesh who is the former Union Home Minister. 

He stated that as per the National HydropowerDevelopment Corporation, 47 hydropower projects are in different stages of development on the Teesta River in Sikkim and Bengal. Of these, 9 have been commissioned, work on 15 dams is going on and another 28 are in the pipeline. 

“Amidst these hydel projects, IRCON has also undertaken tunnelling of this sensitive region for the Sivok-Rangpo railway line (14 tunnels), contributing to the region’s increased vulnerability. The mismanagement in the debris disposal has resulted in the riverbed level going up, making the region more flood prone,” stated Ramesh. 

He alleged that these projects have been undertaken without local communities in mind. “The people of Sikkim and Kalimpong have not gained from the hydro projects in terms of employment, share in power or revenue generation,” he added.

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/hydel-projects-on-teesta-river-a-growing-cause-of-concern-576549