The Teesta in Lalmonirhat has risen and is flowing 1 cm above the danger mark, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) says. Runoff from upstream hills and heavy rain have raised the water, and people living along the banks fear floods and river erosion.
According to BWDB sources, the flow was normal on Monday, but on the morning of Tuesday, 23 June, the Teesta began to rise with the upstream runoff. At 3pm it was flowing 1 cm above the danger mark at the Dalia point. The river had been close to the danger mark for several days.
Residents worried
The sudden rise has left people along the Teesta at a loss. Raisul Islam, a fish farmer from the Gobardhan area of Mohishkhocha union, said: "The water is rising suddenly, and it is raining as well. I have fish in my pond and I am very worried they will be washed away. And as soon as the water falls, erosion will start again. I don't know when the Teesta work will be done and our suffering will end."
Sanjida Begum, a resident of Anandabazar in Khuniagachh union, voiced the same fear. "I heard the Teesta has risen. Water has already started to seep towards our house little by little. It may rise more during the night; I don't know what will become of us," she said.
Board on alert
Sunil Kumar, executive engineer of the Lalmonirhat BWDB, said the district's two main rivers, the Teesta and the Dharla, rise every year with upstream runoff and heavy rain, bringing floods and erosion. The rise and fall of the water caused by runoff and rain over the past two days had already created a number of vulnerable points.
He said that according to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, heavy rain is likely over the next 72 hours. The Teesta could flow above or close to the danger mark as a result, and could fall again within 72 hours. The board is on alert to protect points where erosion may occur because of the rise, he said: enough sand-filled geo-bags have been kept ready to prevent erosion, and staff are fully prepared to deal with any disaster.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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