Teesta : Pretty & Mighty

Teesta nadi si tu chanchala,
Main bhi hoon bachpan se manchala.........
(You are exuberant like river Teesta and I am also fanatic of love since childhood)
These famous lines from a Hindi song of Yesudas & Hemlata rightfully depicts the nature of Teesta, the pretty & mighty river desending from Himalays. Teesta resembles perfectly a flamboyant enticing pretty teenage lass from highland. Her sparkling water...swift flow...slim and deep ravine...striking curves...pristine green mountainous ambience of Himalayas make you difficult to take your eyes off her.

Teesta river originates at Cho Lhamu Lake, bordering Tibet at an altitude of 5,330 m (17,500 feet) at North Sikkim District . This lake lies to the north of the Donkia Pass near Shetschen and fed by Zemu glacier. Teesta is known as Lachen chu from her place of origin to Chungthang, a small town in north Sikkim. Here she meets Lachung Chu and gets the name Teesta. The slope of Teesta upto this confluence is about 1 in 20. After the confluence the river gradually increases in width flowing down to Singhik whilst dropping in elevation from 1550 m to 750 m. At Singhik, Tessta receives one of her major tributaries, Tolung chu on her right.Tolung chu originates from Tolung glaciers, which are part of Khangchendzonga range. From Singhik, Teesta flows towards Dickchu in a very deep valley and drops from 750 m to 550 m. At Dickchu, one 96.45 m high concrete gravity dam has been construced for Teesta stage - V hydroelectric project(510 MW). From Dickchu the river flows in a big curve to Singtam with a drop of 200 m. Rongni chu which drains the Changu lake area joins Teesta river from the left at Singtam. Teesta receives Rangpo chu at Rangpo. After Rangpo Teesa starts widening rapidly and at Melli Bazaar joined by great Rangit river which originates from Rathong glacier. Between the towns of Rangpo and Lohapul, the Teesta flows with a very strong current, ideal for white river rafting. one 32.5 m high barrage is under construction for Teesta Low Dam - III Project (132 MW)near Kalijhora. One 30 m high concrete garvity dam is being constructed for Tessta Low Dam - IV Project (160 MW)about 350 m upstream of Teesta-Kalikhola confluence.Teesta leaves Himalayan mountain range at Sevoke and enters plains here. At Odlabari in Jalpaiguri district there is a barrage on Teesta.Teesta Barrage Project is one of the largest irrigation projects not only in West Bengal but also in the entire eastern region of India. This project has created 9.22 lakh ha. of irrigation potential in six northern districts of West Bengal and 67.50 MW of hydropower from canal falls. The Project has three different phases and the Project envisages utilisation of potential of the Teesta River in the field of irrigation, hydropower generation, navigation and flood moderation. Teesta passes by Jalpaiguri town. She makes her entry into Bangladesh north of Dimla and she meets Brahmaputra river at Fulcherry. At Doani in Lalmonirhat District (northern part of Bangladesh) one barrage is constructed on Teesta which is the largest in Bangladesh having 44 vent radial gates of each 40 feet width. The main purpose of the Barrage is to divert water from the Teesta River to the project command area through a Canal Head Regulator (CHR) and associated canal system for irrigation by gravity. Teesta has a catchment area of 6930 sq km (hilly terrain - Sikkim), 1121 sq km (hilly terrain – West Bengal), 2104 sq km (plains – West Bengal) and 2004 sq km (plains – Bangladesh) and travels 121 km in Sikkim, 151 km in West Bengal & 142 km in Bangladesh. Teesta is, by far, the largest tributary of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna system. Notably,Teesta descends from an elevation of about 5,330 m to about 213 m over a distance of about 175 km. There are total six hydroelectric schemes (Teesta-I to Tessta-VI with a total installed capacity of 3315 MW have been identified on Teesta in Sikkim. They are Teesta-I of 280MW, Teesta-II of 330MW, Teesta-III of 1200MW, Teesta-IV of 495MW, Teesta-V of 510MW & Teesta-VI of 510MW. Apart from these, one 210 MW capacity hydropower project identified on Lachen.