Jalpaiguri: Ahead of the monsoon, a review meeting was held on Monday with engineers from the Jalpaiguri and Siliguri Irrigation divisions to assess the progress of flood control projects. Chief Engineer, Krishnendu Bhowmik, of the Northeast Division presided over the meeting, where junior engineers, assistant engineers, sub-divisional officers, executive engineers and superintending engineers participated.
The status of flood control work on key rivers, including the Teesta, Mahananda, Panchanai and Jaldhaka, was reviewed on a project-by-project basis. Officials have been instructed to complete all ongoing works promptly.
Chief Engineer Bhowmik stated: “67 flood control works, amounting to Rs 108 crore, have been targeted for completion under these two divisions by May. Several major projects are underway on the Teesta River.”
On Tuesday, the Chief Engineer is scheduled to review flood control projects in the Alipurduar and Cooch Behar Irrigation divisions. However, there was no discussion during the meeting regarding the dredging of the Teesta or Karla rivers. After the 2023 Sikkim lake disaster, large portions of the Teesta riverbed became shallow due to sand deposition. An initial proposal had been made for dredging through a Rs 565-crore Detailed Project Report (DPR). Later, Irrigation minister Manas Bhuiyan announced that the sand extraction from the Teesta would be handled free-of-cost by the state-run Mineral Development Corporation.
Regarding the Karala River, which flows through Jalpaiguri town, responsibility for dredging has been shifted from the Irrigation department to the district administration. Chief Engineer Bhowmik clarified: “The state government is directly overseeing the Teesta dredging. We are not responsible for the dredging of the Karla River.”