Structures on riverbank triggered Dudhiya’s devastation: Experts
Times of India | 10 October 2025As swollen rivers swallowed homes and washed away roads and bridges across north Bengal, experts flagged years of unregulated construction, illegal sand mining and encroachment on riverbeds as avoidable triggers for the destruction.
The state government seems to have acknowledged the lapse with north Bengal development minister Udayan Guha saying the cabinet would discuss implementation of stricter policies on construction along rivers at the next meeting.
He, however, emphasised that any state attempt to regulate development along rivers needed central govt support.
Guha also expressed concern over illegal construction in forest areas downstream. "Many resorts in forested zones operate with central forest department approvals but some are clearly illegal. We will write to the ministry of forest, environment and climate change to address these violations and halt further construction," he said.
River expert Kalyan Rudra said construction of homestays and hotels close to the river was an invitation to disaster as such structures only intensified the effects of flash floods, like what happened in Dudhiya.
"We think the river is a source of water and has a left and a right bank. The flood plains along the banks are also part of the river. Once in five years, the river will be in spate and will flow across the flood plains and deposit silt.
Any construction there will be destroyed," said Rudra, who is currently in the UK to deliver a keynote address on ‘Nature-based solution in flooding' at Manchester University.
Karan Chhetri, who runs Radha Rani Homestay in Dudhiya, said there were around 30 homestays along both banks of the Balason, many of them right on the edge of the river. Two of the homestays were washed away by the flood waters, he said.
Over the last few years, Dudhiyā's riverfront has turned into a "mini town," with luxury resorts, restaurants and commercial establishments.
Residents said many of those structures have come up in violation of environmental regulations, often with the backing of local politicians. According to several estimates, multi-storeyed hotels and other commercial establishments have come up on around 20 bighas of land adjacent to the river.
Dudhiya residents alleged that boulders and natural barriers were cleared unscientifically, especially in Upper Dudhiyā, to make space for tourism infrastructure, permanently altering riverbanks.
"This blocks the passage of water during heavy rainfall," said Asish Chhetri, a local resident.
Raj Basu, Bengal govt's chairman of eco tourism, said that earlier there used to be temporary structures along riverbanks. "That was called living with nature. But now, permanent structures are coming up and those are directly hampering the natural flow of rivers. That is a major reason for the widespread damage suffered by north Bengal.
Bhutan has suffered less damage despite receiving more rain than us this time because they have fewer structures close to rivers," Basu said.
North Bengal is no stranger to the wrath of nature, having endured cycles of destruction caused by landslides, floods and cloudbursts for more than a century. However, experts and residents agree that the severity of some recent calamities was "nature's revenge" for years of deforestation, rampant urbanisation, illegal construction along rivers and even on river beds and unregulated quarrying.
