ACT begins four-day Teesta foot march from North to South Sikkim, seeks stronger river protection

Marking 19 years of its movement to protect the Teesta River, the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) began a four-day foot march on Friday. The march starts from Phidang in Dzongu, North Sikkim, and is planned to end in Melli in South Sikkim.

The walk is organised under the theme “Teesta Matters to Me”. It begins after a traditional Lepcha ritual in Dzongu, where monks offered prayers before participants set out along the river. ACT members said the march will pass through Dikchu, Tumin, Rangpo, and the Teesta-Rangeet confluence at Triveni before reaching Melli.

Memorandum to be submitted at the end of the walk

ACT said the march is also timed around recent incidents linked to hydropower activity. The group pointed to the recent tunnel tragedy at the Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project in Samardung, and also referenced the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in October 2023. ACT leaders argued that the pattern of disasters during the monsoon and after such incidents shows growing stress in the region.

ACT general secretary Gyatso Lepcha said the movement is not only for people in Dzongu. He described the Teesta as a river shared across communities, connecting Sikkim with North Bengal and Bangladesh. He said ACT has, over the years, questioned large-scale hydropower development on the Teesta and that its campaign helped stop several proposed projects.

Concerns raised on environmental impacts and village damage

Participants said they expect to see the impacts of hydropower projects along the route. Lepcha questioned claims that such projects are clean energy, and said tunnel construction can release gases that contribute to climate change. He also cited visible erosion and reports of sinking villages and damaged roads along the Teesta, saying impacts continue even after the 2023 GLOF.

ACT members said the four-day march will cover more than 80 kilometres and aims to connect with communities from upstream to downstream. After completing the first day’s walk, Lepcha said participants received a positive response from local people, including those downstream, and noted the condition around Teesta Stage V. The march will also pause near the Teesta-Rangeet confluence to pay tribute to those who lost their lives during the 2023 GLOF and recent project-related incidents.

On reaching Melli, ACT plans to submit a memorandum to the Governor and the Chief Minister, seeking stronger protection for the Teesta River and attention to the concerns of communities living along its banks.