Jalpaiguri, Jan. 16: The Centre has released nearly Rs 13 crore for the construction of spurs on the Teesta a few kilometres from here, where the river changed its course last monsoon and threatened to flood Jalpaiguri town. River expert Kalyan Rudra has termed the measure temporary and suggested that dredging could be an option. Subdivisional engineer of the irrigation department Keshab Roy said the Teesta had broken its bank at Gourikone last year and veered to the right, 5km off course towards Rangdhamalirhat, a densely populated area. The change in the course damaged about 20 hectares of farmland and homesteads, and 8 hectares of forest where trees planted under the social forestry programme were destroyed. “Back in 1968, the Teesta had breached an embankment in the same area causing a devastation, especially in Jalpaiguri town that was virtually flattened. We do not want anything of the sort to occur again. It has been decided that six spurs will be constructed. The projections will jut into the river from the left bank to divert the flow towards its original course,” Roy said. The spurs are expected to slow down the flow and prevent the river from veering towards the right. Last year, the irrigation department had taken some stop-gap measures like dumping sand bags in the affected areas. “Even after the rainy season, we could not do much to prevent the river from changing course. However, we have received Rs 12.5 crore from the Centre’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund. We will start work from this week,” the official said. Rudra, however, had a word of caution for the irrigation department. “The creation of spurs is only a temporary measure. The Teesta is a very fast-flowing river. The spurs, while diverting the water at the point of construction, will cause the river to erode areas either upstream or downstream. What is needed to be done is identify, both upstream and downstream, the directions in which the Teesta has a tendency to flow and then take appropriate measures in those areas,” Rudra said. The expert also said siltation was a major cause of concern. “The Teesta that comes down from the mountains of Sikkim carries a huge load of boulders and soil on its way. The heavy siltation near the Teesta Bridge has raised the bed of the river to almost the same level as that of Jalpaiguri town. This is causing the river to erode its banks, both upstream and downstream from Domohoni, where the bridge is located. The best solution is dredging the silt to ease the flow of the river but that is for the irrigation department to decide,” Rudra said.