Teesta River

Also  Tista River

Teesta River is one of the major trans-boundary river in Bangladesh and it is said to be the lifeline of Sikkim. The river originates from the Himalayas in Sikkim. Teesta River was the principal tributary of the Karatoya-Atrai-Jamunaswari river system in the eastern part of India until late eighteenth century (BWDB 1999). It flows about 172 km in mountainous region before emerging into the alluvial plains of north Bangla in India and The river crosses 97 km in Indian plains before it enters into the extreme northwest region of Bangladesh. It flows about 124 km in Bangladesh and joins Brahmaputra River.

The Teesta River enters Bangladesh near Nilphamari district and courses 45 kilometres through the rice predominant districts of Rangpur, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha before meeting the Brahmaputra River in Kurigram.  The Teesta River Floodplain (TRF), which includes the extreme northwest region of the country, accounted for 14 percent of the total cropped area in 2001. In addition, it supported around 8.5 percent of the total population in the country.  Around 63 percent of the total cropped area in the region is irrigated, indicating a direct association between irrigation water availability and agricultural land use. At present, the TRF along with the region left of the Ganges River is considered to be a ‘dry zone’.

Bangladesh demands 50-50 share basis water of Teesta river. But acording to the proposed water-sharing deal, India wants to retain 75 percent the Teesta river water, while Bangladesh will get the rest 25 percent.

 

Teesta Barrage Project

Bangladesh constructed a barrage in 1990 on the Teesta River at Dalia in Lalmonirhat district to provide irrigation water in three crop seasons from the river through canal networks in the TBP area. The major

physical components of the TBP comprise a 615 m barrage, a 110 m canal head regulator, 708 km irrigation canal networks, 380 km drainage channels and 80 km flood embankment. The TBP was designed to provide irrigation water, flood protection and drainage facilities for 749 000 ha of cultivated land. The project was planned to be completed in two phases. Phase 1 was completed in June 1998. The main conveyance system completed under this phase includes 307 km main canals, 1450 km secondary canals, 2735 km tertiary canals and 8000 field outlets. Phase 1 targets irrigation of 111 406 ha, particularly as supplementary irrigation in the monsoon season.

Proposed Dams

India has proposed a series of dams within the Teesta river that should produce some 50,000 MW of electricity within the next 10 years. With some of the largest sediment loads, the creation of a reservoir will lead to an increased pressure on an active fault area. There are concerns that the building of these dams may lead to river-induced seismicity. Despite such worries the construction of the dams had started.