A high amount of silt deposit on the bed of the Teesta combined with the hydel power projects upstream in Sikkim and Bengal has reduced the flow and the volume of water in the river, an expert report has said.

Around 10 million tonnes of silt is deposited on the riverbed in monsoon. The figure comes down to 2.50 million tonnes during the lean season, river expert Kalyan Rudra said in his report.

Rudra was on a two-day visit to north Bengal and toured several locations in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts through which the Teesta flows before entering Bangladesh.