International Rivers stands in solidarity with the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) from Sikkim, India, as they renew their demand to permanently scrap the 520 MW NHPC Teesta IV hydropower project on the Teesta river and the 280 MW Himagiri Panan hydropower project on the sacred Rongyoung river. The group recently completed a 4-day foot march themed “Teesta Matters to Me” along the river, raising awareness of the issue, honoring elders who have carried their 19-year struggle forward, and paying tribute to those who did not live to see it through. ACT is also demanding a “River Sanctuary” status for the last free-flowing stretch of the Teesta, from the Stage III dam at Chungthang to the Stage V dam at Dikchu, as well as for the Rongyoung river.
For 19 years, ACT, led by the Indigenous Lepcha community of North Sikkim, has organized to protect their land from mega dam construction. Their work protects not only their own territory but the wider environment across Sikkim and downstream West Bengal. As a major transboundary tributary of the Brahmaputra, the Teesta’s headwaters affect communities all the way downstream to Bangladesh.
Hydropower development on the Teesta has caused repeated devastation, including the 2023 Glacial Lake Outburst Flood and the July 2024 flash floods, which washed away bridges and cut off thousands of locals and tourists from the highway network. It was the revival of the Ru Soam, a traditional Lepcha bamboo and cane bridge, that restored passage. Lepcha leaders risked their lives over raging waters to build these bridges, enabling the movement of local communities, stranded tourists, and army personnel.
On July 20, a methane blast at the under-construction Teesta VI killed 25 workers trapped nearly 1.5 km into the head race tunnel. These “run-of-river” diversion projects require heavy blasting in fragile mountain terrain, causing landslides, cracks in homes, and damage even to existing dams like Teesta V, which ironically won a construction award from the International Hydropower Association. This points to a serious, ongoing failure of safety and accountability.
The demands are simple: the government must honor its promise to scrap the dams. Instead, it is rebuilding the damaged Teesta III and V rather than restoring public infrastructure for local communities.
The Teesta has given life to this land for generations. It’s time we gave it, and the people who protect it, the protection they deserve. Stand with the Affected Citizens of Teesta. Demand a free-flowing Teesta, now.