While this article in no way aims to find faults with any
political party or ruling government at any level, it definitely aims to state
facts.
Everyone knows that Teesta Bazar and the other smaller
villages along side NH10 are in danger of being swept out of the face of this
world due to the raising water levels of River Teesta.
I don't want to get into what happened in the past or how
the GLOF happened etc, etc. I don't even what to get into the compensation
issues or relocation issues or the construction of retaining walls on the river
bank because I see these only as temporary issues which will be solved sooner
or later.
In my opinion, the main issue is that the Teesta River bed
level that has increased due to the GLOF last October. This is the long term
issue and till this issue is not solved, River Teesta will continue overflowing
on to NH10 and the villages that dot it. I am no expert but people who know
Teesta say that its bed has increased by close to 5 meters after the GLOF. The
fact is that if we just continue hoping that nature will take its own course
and that over a period of time this silt will be wash away by the river by a
natural process, then we are living in a fool’s paradise. On the contrary, the
river bed will rise further with each passing year and one can only imagine
what happens if there is another GLOF. If another GLOF happens on Teesta and
another 5 meters of silt piles on to the current level, it would be doomsday
for NH10 and everything else that depends on it. And yes another GLOF is a real
possibility not just a scary story.
We can keep blaming the District Administration or the state
or the GTA but the fact is that the problem is beyond their solving. They can
only react to the disaster every year with relief, rescue and compensation
issues but cannot do anything to prevent its recurrence. And in October last
and since then, everyone has seen that even in this the State and GTA has
failed miserable. But this article is not about their failures, thousands of
reams of paper and hundreds of hours of footage has already documented their
inability hence let me not waste further time on it.
Let's talk of permanent solutions here and the solution lies
only on desiltation of River Teesta. Till the additional silt is not cleared
away we will face this situation every year and year after year. The entire
river from Singtam to about Kalijhora has to be desilted so that the additional
waters in the Teesta every monsoons can flow down its course unobstructed.
Now the question is who will do this mammoth task of
dredging the Teesta? It is a huge task and will require expertise and funding
of levels way beyond local or regional resources. Can the GTA or State
Governments do it? Definitely not. It is way beyond their capacities. Plus it
is a matter of jurisdiction too. River Teesta is technically not under the
ownership of either the Sikkim or West Bengal governments. It belongs to the
Central Government as per THE NATIONALISATION OF INTER STATE RIVERS ACT 2019.
As per Point 7 of this act THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SHALL TAKE SUCH STEPS AS IT
MAY CONSIDER NECESSARY FOR CHECKING FLOODS AND SOIL EROSION CAUSED BY
INTERSTATE RIVERS.
From what I can understand from this Act is that it is
entirely the Central Government's responsibility to clean up Teesta River which
is not just an inter-state river but also an inter country one. Has anyone,
whether it’s the GTA or the West Bengal Government or the MP, brought this
matter to the notice of the DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES which presently is
under Mr Amit Shah who is also the Home Minister of India? Someone has to
petition the above ministry with a concrete plan or this disaster situation
will reoccur every year.
We can keep going red, blue, green, yellow in the face and
everywhere else, playing the blame game, but the fact remains that till this is
not done, Teesta will keep overflowing its banks each year and this disaster
situation will keep starting down our faces year after year.
The fact is that if you have a leaking bladder, the plumber,
who may be your closest neighbour, will not be able to fix it. You need to call
in the Urologist who is the expert and will give permanent relief.
(Sandip C Jain is Editor Himalayan Times and well known
author and writer from Kalimpong. Views are personal. Email: himalayantimes@rediffmail.com)
