6 months ago
2
As rains triggered by the remnants of Cyclone ‘Motha’ lashed northbound Bengal from Friday (October 31, 2025) and continued to batter the hills until Saturday (November 1, 2025), experts warned that unregulated operation and tourism successful this ecologically fragile portion are expanding the hazard of floods and landslides.
Earlier successful October, incessant rainfall successful the country had claimed implicit 30 lives and caused much than 110 major landslips, bringing beingness to a standstill.
In galore areas in North Bengal, the rivers are flowing adjacent oregon supra the information mark, raising panic among the locals who are inactive recovering from the past disaster. A impermanent span at Dudhia had to beryllium closed due to information concerns arsenic the Balason River soared. The robust span connected the stream was damaged successful the October 5 flash floods.
On October 5, the hills of West Bengal witnessed one of the worst earthy disasters to person affected the area in implicit 30 years. The overflowing rivers and relentless downpour wreaked havoc across the Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, killing radical and destroying homes, roads, and bridges. Many roads successful the areas are inactive blocked arsenic rebuilding of roads and bridges continues.
After the catastrophe struck earlier successful October, the West Bengal government officials, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, blamed the unprecedented rain, poor flood absorption by the Central Government, and excessive travel of h2o successful the Sankosh River from Bhutan and Sikkim for triggering the disaster.
Impending disaster: pass experts
However, experts judge that incessant rainfall and dam h2o merchandise whitethorn not beryllium the sole crushed down the catastrophe that took aggregate lives successful the hills.
“Rivers, streams, and waterfalls are the earthy drainage strategy of a mountain, but these are being blocked oregon rerouted owed to operation and dense silt deposition. Once they are blocked, flash floods tin hap precise easy due to the fact that the carrying capableness of the h2o bodies is reduced,” Partha Pratim Biswas, prof of operation engineering astatine Jadavpur University, told The Hindu.
Prof. Biswas raised questions astir wherefore hotels are cropping up connected the banks of rivers and wherefore operation is allowed successful these susceptible locations. He highlighted that the craze for “off-beat tourer destinations” is promoting the unregulated operation of hotels and homestays close beside the rivers.
Experts besides added that rainfall patterns are besides changing owed to planetary warming and clime change, starring to unprecedented dense rains within a abbreviated period of time. Like in the intermittent nighttime of October 4-5, erstwhile northbound Bengal received 261mm of rainfall successful conscionable 12 hours, triggering the floods and landslides. To hole for specified situations, experts said that the carrying capableness of rivers indispensable besides beryllium accrued by dredging, desilting, and stopping construction along the astir vulnerable riverbanks.
“Each elevation slope is different; each slope needs to be scientifically studied, and if the rock soil formation of the elevation does not permit construction, we indispensable state it arsenic a ‘no operation zone’, but determination is nary specified regulation here,” Prof. Biswas added. He besides warned that dense operation connected steep slopes makes some the hills and the structures unstable, and when it rains, it tin descent the full operation and crush it.
Deforestation of upland forests has besides go communal to promote the easy operation of houses and hotels. However, Prof Biswas warned that the roots of trees enactment arsenic natural geo reinforcements, binding the fragile upland soil, preventing erosion and landslides, and erstwhile they are axed, the mountains crumble swiftly.
Experts besides warned against the accelerated road and passageway operation successful the northbound Bengal hills to easiness the commute of tourists and locals. “At least 200 metres along some sides of the stream is expected to beryllium a River Regulated Zone (RRZ) to ensure the river’s earthy travel and ecology and maintain flood-carrying capacity. So, when it rains, and the stream swells, it is bound to lavation away all the inhabitants and houses that are constructed connected the riverbed,” Indrajit Roy Chowdhury, adjunct prof of geography astatine North Bengal University, warned.
Prof Roy Chowdhury besides added that in an effort to promote renewable vigor resources done hydropower projects, the construction of dams on the Teesta River has besides reduced its carrying capacity.
Way forward
“Unmonitored operation astatine susceptible locations indispensable beryllium checked to spot if they are pursuing the authorities protocols to guarantee sustainable tourism successful ecologically delicate zones,” Samrat Sanyal, caput of the Himalayan Hospitality Tourism Development Network, said. He besides added that they are moving a elaborate survey crossed the mountains of North Bengal to see if delicate areas are exceeding their carrying capableness and submit a study with the authorities of West Bengal.
Tourism experts successful the hills called for a rethought exemplary of tourism which is much sustainable and promotes ecologically dependable structures to debar specified disasters successful the aboriginal which led to some nonaccomplishment of lives and livelihood this year.
Scientists besides highlighted the urgent request to representation the hills successful northbound Bengal to spot which elevation promotes which benignant of operation and instrumentality strict regulations based connected the findings to ensure that quality and radical tin peacefully co-exist.
“We cannot simply support reasoning astir profits. There is an urgent request to instrumentality a more holistic approach to beforehand sustainable tourism successful the hills so we bash not suffer our quality and radical to bigger earthy disasters,” Prof. Roy Chowdhury added.
