# Ganga and Fulahar 750 metres apart, Bengal plans Rs 50 crore fix 2026-10-26T02:16:51+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal has warned that the Ganga and the Fulahar river are now just 750 metres apart in Malda’s Ratua block, raising the risk of a merger that could cut off north Bengal by road and rail. After an aerial survey on Sunday, October 25, Agarwal said the state will take up a three-phase project, starting with 12 spurs, seven by Bihar and five by Bengal, followed by the dredging of a 16-kilometre stretch at Sakrigali in Jharkhand and the separation of the Kosi river. The pilot dredging alone is expected to cost Rs 50 crore. Agarwal said the Ganga Flood Control Board, chaired by Union Jalshakti Minister CR Patil, will meet in Delhi on October 27, where Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be present. Bihar has already given its approval, but Jharkhand has yet to issue a No Objection Certificate. Agarwal added that the work must be completed before the next monsoon. Update, 26 October 2026: Millennium Post confirms the 750-metre gap, the three-phase plan and the October 27 meeting, adding that Chief Secretary Agarwal named Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari as the one who directed a permanent solution. Millennium Post also specifies the dredging stretch as 16 kilometres and the number of spurs as 12, with seven by Bihar and five by Bengal. ## Indian Opinion Analysis On the central facts, the 750-metre gap, the three-phase plan, the Rs 50 crore cost and the October 27 meeting, all three sources agree, reflecting straight reporting from the same official briefing. The stances diverge on who leads the story. ETV Bharat B2B and Times of India lead with the disaster scenario of north Bengal being cut off, while Millennium Post leads with the chief secretary's ‘deep concern’ and then names Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari as the one who directed the permanent solution, a framing that puts the Bengal government in command rather than responding to crisis. All three omit any sceptical voice or independent assessment. The only concrete next step men­tioned is the October 27 meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Board in Delhi. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 1 pro-government, 2 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with disaster-scenario framing, then official plan - etvbharat.com (neutral report) Leads with disaster threat, emphasises Jharkhand’s silence - millenniumpost.in (pro government) Leads with official concern, names CM Suvendu Adhikari as directing action This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Fulahar River, Ganga, IIT Kanpur, Malda, Manoj Agarwal, West Bengal Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ganga-and-fulahar-750-metres-apart-bengal-plans-river-course-change/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ganga-and-fulahar-750-metres-apart-bengal-plans-river-course-change/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/