The Bengal government has decided to draw sand from the Teesta river after a gap of five years.
Sources said the West Bengal Mineral Development & Trading Corporation Limited (WBMDTCL) has issued tenders, seeking bids to extract sand from four locations of the river.
“We had sent a proposal to the state government so that sand could be extracted from the Teesta. We have learned that the WBMDTCL has issued tenders to draw sand from four locations of the Teesta riverbed,” said Shama Parveen, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri.
The decision has come as a relief for the officials of the state irrigation department and river experts. After the glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) due to the outburst of the South Lhonak Lake in Sikkim in October last year, engineers of the department and experts pointed out that the river bed of the Teesta has risen by four to eight feet in different locations.
Because of the flash flood, huge quantities of debris like sand, boulders, and pebbles were carried downstream of the Teesta which led to a rise in the riverbed, they said.
The irrigation department had also conducted a survey and submitted its report to the state, which said dredging was required along a 33-kilometre stretch of the Teesta.
“We had pointed out that due to the rise in the riverbed, the water holding capacity of the river has reduced. This has also increased the risk of flood during monsoons. Thus, dredging is needed,” said Krishnendu Bhowmik, the chief engineer (northeast) of the irrigation department.
“It is good that the state has decided to allow extraction of sand from the Teesta riverbed. This will help mitigate the risk of flood,” he added.
Sources said that according to the WBMDTCL, sand could be extracted from four locations in the Sadar, Mal, and Mainaguri blocks of Jalpaiguri. Altogether, an area of around 42 hectares of the riverbed has been offered on tender.
“Along with the Teesta, tenders have also been issued for extraction of sand from certain locations of the Chel and the Ghish rivers of Malbazar, the Neora river of Matiali (all in Jalpaiguri), and in three rivers, namely, the Torsha, the Jaldhaka and the Raidak, in the Cooch Behar district,” said a source.
Most of these rivers originate in Bhutan and descend to Bengal. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has time and again said that these rivers carry huge debris in Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar districts and often cause floods, affecting villages, tea estates and forests.
She has also demanded that the Centre should take up the issue with the Bhutan government and form a joint river commission to address the issue. A resolution in this regard has also been passed in the Bengal Assembly earlier this year.
Tuhin Subhra Mondal, a river expert based in Balurghat, called the decision to draw sand from the Teesta pertinent.
"The beds of these rivers have huge deposits of sand. Extraction of sand in a scientific manner will increase the water-holding capacity of these rivers,” said Mondal.
The extraction of sand, sources said, will also bring additional earnings for the state’s coffers.
“The state should consult experts and engineers at the irrigation department and identify some other rivers where sand mining can be carried out scientifically. It will also stop the illegal extraction of sand and bring revenue to the state,” said an administrative official.