About 20,000 families have been marooned and 500 houses washed away in the trans-boundary Teesta Basin in Bangladesh as all 44 floodgates of Gajoldoba Barrage on the river in West Bengal, India have been opened amid onrush of water at upstream and heavy rainfall. As a result, the Teesta Barrage flood bypass embankment road in Bangladesh connecting Rangpur and Nilphamari with Lalmonirhat has been damaged disrupting the road communication to and from the three districts while vast areas of cropland have been submerged under water, say officials concerned. The Bangladesh Water Development (BWD) has issued a ‘red alert’ in the Teesta Basin and ordered evacuation of the people living in villages along the riverbanks. The river is now flowing 70cm above the danger level.
The Bangladesh Army has been pressed into service to evacuate stranded people from the affected areas. BWD officials fear further deterioration in the flood situation. Gajoldoba Barrage gates are opened when pressure of water becomes unbearable for the structure. Otherwise all the floodgates are kept closed allowing only seepage to come down the river’s Bangladesh part rendering it dry. The river crossed its danger marks at least on seven occasions since June this year alone. The gajoldoba Barrage authorities do not feel it necessary to inform their Bangladesh counterpart before opening or closing the floodgates. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina during bilateral talks with her Indian counterpart Naredra Modi in March this year repeated the demand for signing an agreement on sharing of water of the River Teesta. The Indian premier said they were committed to the signing of the proposed agreement. The issue has been dragging on since 2011.
It is sad that at the time of severe scarcity of water for cultivating crops particularly in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram, all the water from the Teesta is withdrawn using the Gajoldoba Barrage. As a result the Teesta in Bangladesh turns dead during the lean season. But during the wet season the Bangladesh part of the river is flooded by opening all floodgates. Homes, croplands are devoured through riverbank erosion as a result. This time floods late into the Autumn is a disaster for the people of northern districts. The authorities concerned should make all efforts to drive the bare facts home to the upstream neighbour for an early solution of the recurrent problem.
