A sudden burst of water from Shintaphu Lake in Bhutan’s Bumthang district flooded the Mo Chhu River’s headwaters on Thursday evening, sending shockwaves downstream to the Assam–West Bengal border. A farmer in Surendrapur, 12 km from the river, watched the water surge 2 meters higher in minutes.
Residents of Surendrapur, Khokchaguri, Ghaksa, Jaraguri, Borogopa, Bagmara Tapu and West Bengal’s Kumargram were evacuated to higher ground by local authorities. Evacuees were housed in temporary shelters in nearby schools and community halls.
On Friday, Pankaj Chakravarty and former MLA Jiron Basumatary toured the Sankosh banks, inspecting levees and interviewing villagers. Chakravarty declared that, despite a modest rise in water levels, no flooding or waterlogging had occurred in Assam’s vulnerable zones. He cited real‑time gauge readings that showed only a 0.3‑meter increase.
The Ministry of Environment has deployed a joint monitoring task force to track river levels for the next 72 hours, while scientists warn that Shintaphu, one of Bhutan’s 17 potentially dangerous glacial lakes, could pose risks if temperatures rise further.