| Teesta River Trisrotā | |
|---|---|
 Teesta inSiliguri, West Bengal | |
 Path of the Teesta | |
  Source of Teesta river in Sikkim Show map of Sikkim Teesta River (India) Show map of India | |
| Location | |
| Country | |
| States | |
| Important Bridges |
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| District's | |
| Towns & Cities | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Pauhunri,Zemu Glacier,Gurudongmar Lake,Tso Lhamo Lake |
| • location | Sikkim,India |
| • elevation | 7,128 m (23,386 ft)[1] |
| Mouth | Jamuna River |
• location | Phulchhari Upazila,Gaibandha, Bangladesh |
| Length | 414 km (257 mi)[1] |
| Basin size | 12,540 km2 (4,840 sq mi)[2] |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left |
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| • right |
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Teesta River is a 414 km (257 mi) long river that rises in thePauhunri Mountain of easternHimalayas, flows through theIndian states ofSikkim andWest Bengal and subsequently entersBangladesh throughRangpur division. In Bangladesh, it merges withJamuna River which after meeting some other major rivers of theBengal delta finally falls into theBay of Bengal.[1] It drains an area of 12,540 km2 (4,840 sq mi).[2] InIndia, the Teesta flows throughMangan District,Gangtok District,Pakyong District,Kalimpong district,Darjeeling District,Jalpaiguri District,Cooch Behar districts and the cities ofRangpo,Jalpaiguri andMekhliganj. In Bangladesh, it flows throughLalmonirhat District,Rangpur District,Kurigram District andGaibandha District. It joins theJamuna River atPhulchhari Upazila in Bangladesh. 305 km (190 mi) of the river lies in India and 109 km (68 mi) in Bangladesh. The Teesta is the largest river of Sikkim and second largest river of West Bengal after theGanges.
The Teesta River originates fromTeesta Khangtse Glacier, west ofPahunri (or Teesta Kangse) glacier above 5,400 m (17,700 ft), and flows southward through gorges and rapids in theSikkim Himalaya.[3]
It is fed by streams fromTso Lhamo Lake,Gurudongmar Lake andrivulets arising in theThangu Valley,Yumthang Valley of Flowers,Dikchu and Donkha mountain ranges. The river then flows past the towns ofChungthang,Singhik,Mangan,Dikchu andMakha, where some major tributaries like Kanaka river join it, and reachesSingtam, where it is spanned by the scenic Indreni Bridge. Also in Singtam, a large tributary of the Teesta calledRanikhola joins and then descends towards Bardang,Majitar, Mining where it is spanned by Rangpo - Mining Teesta Bridge and reaches the city ofRangpo whereRangpo River, the second largest tributary of the Teesta joins. From here river Teesta forms the border between Sikkim andWest Bengal up toTeesta Bazaar viaMelli. Just before the Teesta Bridge, where the roads fromKalimpong andDarjeeling join, the river is met by its largesttributary, theRangeet River.[4]
After this point, Teesta river changes its course southwards flowing into West Bengal and some more tributaries likeRelli River, Riyang river, Geil Khola etc joins. Than the river hits the plains atSevoke, 22 km (14 mi) northeast ofSiliguri, where it is spanned by theCoronation Bridge andSevoke Railway Bridge linking the northeast states to the rest ofIndia. After crossing Sevoke, the river is fed by some small tributaries like Chel Khola, Neora Khola, Leesh Khola etc, and then reachesGajoldoba where there is Teesta Barrage. The river then flows throughJalpaiguri, where Jalpaiguri Teesta Bridge links Northeastern States. The river flows further down throughMekhliganj andHaldibari inCooch Behar district, where it is spanned byJoyee Setu, the longest roadway bridge of West Bengal with length 3.8 kilometres.
Here the Teesta completes its journey in India and entersBangladesh inDahagram,Rangpur Division. The river descends towards Barakhata, where there is Teesta Barrage of Bangladesh. Further it reachesRangpur andLalmonirhat town inLalmonirhat District andNilphamari District. After crossing Tepamadhupur Bazaar, Nagrakura Bazaar, Sundarganj and Bozra Bazaar, river Teesta joinsBrahmaputra River at Haripur Port nearGaibandha,Phulchhari Upazila inKurigram District of Bangladesh.[5]
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Through its course, the Teesta river has carved outravines andgorges in Sikkim meandering through the hills with thehill station of Kalimpong lying just off the river and the city of Siliguri at the foothills of Himalaya. Variegated vegetation can be seen along this route. At lower elevations,tropicaldeciduous trees and shrubs cover the surrounding hills;alpine vegetation is seen at the upper altitudes. The river is flanked by white sand which is used by the construction industry in the region. Large boulders in and around the waters make it ideal forrafting.
During themonsoon, Teesta River distends its banks, both in size and turbulence.Landslides in this region often dam up parts of the river in this season. It has also caused severe flooding, multiple times during monsoon in Bangladesh.[6][7]
In the past, the Teesta flowed south from Jalpaiguri in three channels: thePunarbhaba,Atrai andKaratoya Rivers. The Teesta changed course as a result of the flooding of 1787, turning southeast to become part of theBrahmaputra.[8]
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India has an estimated total hydroelectric power potential of 84 GW at 60% load factor. Of this, Sikkim's potential share is 2.9%, or about 4.29 GW.[10]
The successfully completed major projects and dams of Teesta River System are as follows:
The other three completed projects are significantly smaller and minor—Lower Lagyap, Upper Rongni Chhu and Mayang Chhu projects.[10]
Disputes over the appropriate allocation and development of the water resources of the river have remained a subject of conflict between India and Bangladesh for almost 35 years, with several bilateral agreements and rounds of talks failing to produce results.[26][27][28]
Negotiations have been going on since 1983.[29][30][31] In 1983, a temporary solution had been worked out— Bangladesh would get 36%, India would get 39% while the rest of the water remained unallocated.[30] Both countries signed a water sharing treaty in 1996 which would look into water sharing between the two countries in general following theGanges water dispute.[30] The water sharing remains a challenge.[30]
In recent developments, Bangladesh's interim government water advisor,Syeda Rizwana Hasan, told news agency PTI (Press Trust of India) on September 1, 2024, that both upper and lower riparian countries must follow international water-sharing principles. If a treaty remains out of reach, it could mark a significant shift in India-Bangladesh relations if diplomacy fails.[32]
Teesta river area is in the seismically active Zone-V and has experienced micro-seismic activity. According to India's Ministry of Environment & Forests, the Teesta river dam projects have been approved with the requirement that they adopt suitable seismic coefficient in the design for the dam, tunnel, surge shaft and power house. The projects are cascaded over the length of the river, do not store large amounts water, have small reservoirs, and therefore the projects are expected to have very low risk from the reservoir induced seismicity in the area.[10]
The Teesta river has preserved good imprints of climatic and tectonics along its valleys and catchments. The interrelationship between climate, erosion, deposition and tectonic activities is not properly understood to date. These are being studied.[3][33][34]
25°30′50″N89°39′56″E / 25.51389°N 89.66556°E /25.51389; 89.66556