A preliminary report by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) on the “flash flood in Teesta basin” in Sikkim has revealed that dam authorities lost valuable time in taking crucial action after being informed by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) about the rising water level in the river, ThePrint reported.
Sikkim Flash Floods
Sources in the Central and Sikkim governments have disclosed that the NDSA’s report indicates that between the time the ITBP informed the dam authorities about the rising water in the Teesta river, the dam authorities had sufficient time to take measures like emptying or at least reducing water in the dam’s reservoir.
The NDSA has stated that instead of acting on the ITBP’s communication, the dam authorities wasted time in confirming the news.
“By the time the water actually reached Chungthang dam, it was too late to do anything. A team of dam staff had at the last moment gone to open the gates but was swept away,” a Central government source told ThePrint.