Teesta's love story is still narrated in Lepcha wedding songs, but the river is now also feared for its anger. What began with melting ice has been worsened by dams and encroachment.
Sikkim's South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood killed 90 people in 2023. Villagers are angry and the state government is wary of attributing the GLOF to climate change—Rs 2,500 crore insurance claim is at stake.
Report by central committee blames glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) for the incident. Sikkim govt cites a cloudburst. Insiders say destroyed Chungthang dam's insurance at root of debate.
Total sum assured in policy for 1,200 MW project, which has stopped generating electricity, is around Rs 11,400 cr. State govt & operator Sikkim Urja together owe lenders over Rs 10,000 cr.
Upon seeing water level rise suddenly at 10.30 pm on 3 October, jawan inform his commandant who alerted battalion HQ in Gangtok by 10.40 pm. By 10.50 pm, Chungthang had been warned.
According to government officials, at least 101 people were still missing after a cloudburst triggered rains causing major flooding in the Teesta river.
In 2013, the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad alerted authorities that some of the glacial lakes in the upper reaches of Sikkim were increasing in size, including the South Lhonak lake.
China patiently invested capital, skill and technology in coal gasification. Unlike it, we won’t move from words to action. As crude prices decline, we lose interest.
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