The bank of the Ganga in Bhutni where the river has been advancing steadily. Picture by Surajit Roy
Malda, July 28: People living on Bhutni island on the Ganga are facing a dilemma: whether to allow the river to breach the embankment and bring in silt that will enrich the soil, or ask the irrigation department to take steps to stop the flooding.

"If the rising waters of the river breach the embankment and deposit the silt, we will have a green revolution on the island,' a farmer said.

Survival of Ganga, Dead Sea at risk

Man Mohan
Our Roving Editor

New Delhi, July 22
Because of climate change, not only the mighty Ganga's survival is at stake but even the Dead Sea - one of the world's first health resorts - is dying. It is feared that the Dead Sea, which is 1,378 ft below sea level, may disappear by 2050.

The Dead Sea is a salt lake between Israel and and the West Bank and its shores are the lowest point on the surface of the earth on dry land.

The 103-year-old school being dismantled in Murshidabad's Shekalipur. The river was only 10 metres from the building on Tuesday. A Telegraph picture

Lalgola, July 22: Lying on a cot in the afternoon, Rojefa Bewa had thought she heard claps of thunder.

"My sons had just returned from the field. I told them about it. Then we saw villagers running past our house.

NEW DELHI: India and Bangladesh made some progress during the Foreign Secretary-level talks here on Thursday on the water issue that has often vitiated public opinion on both sides of the border. They also discussed the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) that could be a precursor to normal economic ties between the two countries.

bURDWAN : Further collapse of the Ganga riverbank has sparked off panic among the residents of Jahdanga and Tamaghata villages in Purbasthali area near Kalna. Twenty eight families so far have been shifted to safer places by the Kalna administration.

The bank of the Ganga in Manikchak where the river is gobbling up the land. Malda : Over 30 families in six villages of Manikchak lost their homes today as the Ganga and the Phulhar touched the danger level, prompting the Malda district authorities to raise the yellow alert. The two rivers meet in Manikchak, around 40km from Malda. Erosion has also begun in the Bhutni island, located between the rivers.