News of a sudden discharge of water from the Shintaphu Lake in Bhutan, following a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), triggered panic among residents living near the banks of the Sankosh River along the Assam-West Bengal border on Thursday evening.
On Friday, Kokrajhar District Commissioner Pankaj Chakravarty and former MLA Jiron Basumatary visited areas around the Sankosh River to assess the situation. “Following the glacial lake-related incident in Bhutan on Thursday evening, a significant rise in water levels was detected there. Fears of flooding gripped residents of places such as Surendrapur, Khokchaguri, Ghaksa, Jaraguri, Borogopa, and Bagmara Tapu. People living along the river in West Bengal, including Kumargram, were evacuated to safer locations.
Shintaphu Lake, located at the source of the Mo Chhu River, is considered one of Bhutan’s 17 potentially dangerous glacial lakes. The Gasa Tshachu hot spring was last washed away by a major flash flood on August 26, 2021, when the swollen Mo Chhu River changed course towards the hot spring.
The district commissioner said vulnerable areas in Assam were safe, adding that although the water level had risen slightly, no area had experienced flooding or waterlogging. However, we do not anticipate any flooding or water accumulation in the vulnerable areas of Assam at present,” he said.
