New Delhi, Jan. 31 -- At midnight on October 3, 2023, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) swallowed more than 100 lives, damaged 1,800 houses, and battered the 1,200 MW Teesta III hydel dam-Sikkim's biggest- built at a cost of Rs.13,965-crore, to a defunct mode. That is apart from a deluge of untold human suffering inflicted on inhabitants of the northeastern state of Sikkim.

Now, Sikkim seeks to rebuild Teesta Dam, first commissioned in 2017, at an estimated cost of Rs.4,189 crore, to treble its previous capacity. The Union Environmental Ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) has reportedly given the go-ahead to the project, which environmental activists fear would be detrimental to vast swathes of the fragile ecosystem of the Him...