Contentious canal

the Indo-Bhutanese agreement on the Sankosh river multipurpose project, is in troubled waters. Several non-governmental organisations (ngos) in Siliguri, Assam, are gearing up to oppose its implementation. To this end, the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, a local organisation, has called a convention of the ngos in Siliguri on September 8. The Sankosh, known as Wangchu in Bhutan, flows through the kingdom up to Kalikhola and then enters India, flowing through Assam and West Bengal. The proposed canal would run through the Buxa tiger reserve, the Jalpada sanctuary and the Garumara national park in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. The project would imperil the wildlife and the forests and according to the activists, the canal would obstruct the movement of elephants between Assam, Bhutan and north Bengal.