Sikkim's Teesta-III dam was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode

The glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) that ravaged parts of Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday also washed away the 60-metre-high rock-filled concrete dam of the 1200-MW Teesta-III hydel project.

The deadly glacial lake outburst flood claimed 26 lives, while 102 are still missing. As reported by the Indian Express, the Teesta-III dam was not build to survive such a massive glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF).

However, there were early warnings before Teesta-III was commissioned in 2017. Run by Sikkim Urja Ltd, it was developed at a cost of Rs 13,965 crore. The government of Sikkim holds a 60 per cent stake in the company through its investment arm, Sikkim Power Investment Corporation Limited.

Back in 2005, the Environment Ministry’s steering committee for Carrying Capacity Study of Teesta Basin noted that “glacial moraines (sediment carried and deposited by a glacier), temporarily forming glacial lakes and debris cones, are a potential source of hazard in North Sikkim.”

The draft Carrying Capacity report, based on which Teesta-III was cleared in August 2006, also warned that the region was “quite susceptible to disastrous hazards due to Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs).”

“They never addressed the issue of a possible glacial lake burst even though it was a ticking time bomb barely 50 km upstream. Provisioning for 7000 cumec is barely sufficient for rain-induced floods. A GLOF demands spillways of much higher capacity,” said a senior Central Water Commission official familiar with the projects in the Teesta basin.

When contacted, Sunil Saraogi, the executive chairman of Sikkim Urja Limited, said: “I cannot comment on what transpired in the past but there was no lapse at the operational level. It is too early for a review but we will certainly take every precaution possible based on science.”

“Climate Change has once again knocked loudly on our doors. We must learn from this disaster and put a more credible dam safety governance in place. We must fix accountability for the lapses and create a credible, functioning early warning system,” said Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.