Silt and sand choke a stretch of the Teesta. Picture by Biplab Basak

Jalpaiguri, March 28: Environmentalists got that sinking feeling after news sank in that the bed of the Teesta had risen several metres above level of the town.

A survey conducted by the geography department of North Bengal University has recorded an alarming rise in the Teesta?s bed, at places more than three metres above the level of the town.

?The result of our survey is alarming. The riverbed is rising by .03 metres each year. The town?s average elevation from mean sea level is between 80 and 81 metres, while the bed of the Teesta is at 83.09 metres,? said Subir Sarkar, a geography professor of North Bengal University and the leader of the surveying team.

Kadamtala stands at elevation of 82.06 metres, Jalpaiguri Sadar Hospital area at 81.09 m, district magistrate?s bungalow 81.09m and Bowbazar 80.03m.

?There is a very real possibility of the town being swamped by a breach in the embankments that protect it,? he added.

The team has informed the Uttarbanga Unnayan Parshad (UUP) and North Bengal Flood Control Commission (NBFCC) about the situation.

Sarkar said the problem of was compounded by the pathetic condition of Karala, a tributary of the Teesta that flows through the town.

?The bed of the Karala has risen too. In fact the it has risen more than the level of the bed of the Teesta, compounding problems. Earlier, the excess water from the Teesta flowed into the Karala, but now that the bed has risen, the waters of the Karala rushes in to join the Teesta during the monsoon,? Sarkar said.

Jalpaiguri MLA Gobinda Roy said he was aware of the problem and blamed the flood NBFCC of turning a deaf year to their cries for help.

?It is a scary thought. Worse still, the embankments have developed cracks and fissures to non-maintenance. The effect of a breach in any embankment would be catastrophic, far worse than what the town experienced during the great flood of 1968. The NBFCC should do something about it immediately,? Roy said.

Human settlements and uninhibited overgrazing by livestock had also hastened the wear-and-tear of the bunds, sources said.

Officials of the commission, however, seemed unperturbed by the problem.

?Repairs are being conducted where necessary. The condition of the bunds is not as bad as they are being made out to be,? said NBFCC chairman B.R. Basu. ?We know about the rise in the level of the riverbed and are looking into it.?