Dhaka:

Authorities in Bangladesh are bracing for the spread of waterborne diseases and racing to get drinking water to people after devastating floods last week that left at least 54 people dead and millions stranded.

As floodwaters recede slowly, many people remain stranded and in urgent need of food, clean water, medicine and dry clothes, especially in remote areas where blocked roads have hindered rescue and relief efforts.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department said that flood conditions could persist if the monsoon rains continued, as water levels were receding very slowly.

Around 470,000 people have taken refuge in 3,300 shelters across 11 flood-hit districts, where around 600 medical teams are helping provide treatment, with the army, air force, navy, and the border guard assisting in rescue operations, authorities said.

A disaster management ministry official warned that as floodwaters recede, there is a risk of an epidemic, adding that the outbreak of waterborne diseases is likely if clean water is not provided soon.

“Our top priority is to ensure the availability of safe drinking water,” the official said.

In the past 24 hours, around 3,000 people have been hospitalized due to waterborne diseases in flood-hit areas, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. Many areas remained submerged, preventing stranded people from accessing healthcare facilities.

“Water is everywhere but there is no clean water to drink. People are getting sick,” said Farid Ahmed, a resident of one of the worst-hit districts, Lakshmipur.

Vast areas of land are submerged, posing a significant threat to crops, agriculture ministry officials said.

The U.N. children’s agency has warned that two million children were at risk as the worst floods in three decades sweep through eastern Bangladesh. The organization is urgently appealing for $35 million to provide life-saving supplies.

“The devastating floods in eastern Bangladesh are a tragic reminder of the relentless impact of extreme weather events and the climate crisis on children,” said Emma Brigham, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Bangladesh.

An analysis in 2015 by the World Bank Institute estimated that 3.5 million people in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, were at risk of annual river flooding. Scientists attribute the exacerbation of such catastrophic events to climate change.

Farah Kabir, director of ActionAid Bangladesh, said that countries like Bangladesh, which contribute minimally to global emissions, urgently need funding to recover from climate-related losses and build resilience for future impacts while pursuing green development pathways.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has once again trashed reports that the flooding in some areas of Bangladesh were caused by the opening of a dam on the Gumti River in Tripura.  The Centre said that the report is “factually not correct” and its “narrative is misleading”, adding that it  “ignores the facts” issued by the Government of India.

“We have seen CNN report on flood situation in Bangladesh. Its narrative is misleading and suggests that India is somehow responsible for the floods. This is factually not correct and ignores the facts mentioned in the press releases issued by the Government of India clarifying the situation,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a presser today. Mr Jaiswal was responding to media queries that flooding in southeast Bangladesh were caused by the opening of a dam on the Gumti River in Tripura.

“They have also ignored that we have regular and timely exchange of data and critical information between the two countries through existing joint mechanisms for water resources management,” he added.

Bangladesh is grappling with devastating floods due to relentless monsoon rain and overflowing rivers which has killed at least 23 people. Water has inundated 11 districts, and large swathes of the city of nearly 1.5 million people are now submerged. Amid this, reports in foreign media claimed that the flooding in Bangladesh has been caused by opening a dam in India’s northeastern state, a claim denied by Centre twice.

What CNN Report Said?

A report published by CNN claimed that in people in Feni, a city in southeast Bangladesh, blame officials in India for the situation. According to the report, dozens in Feni -which is only a few miles from the India border- accused New Delhi of releasing water from the Dumbur dam in neighboring Tripura state with no warning.

Centre On Bangladesh Floods Claim

Centre has earlier clarified that flooding in eastern districts in the neighbouring country were not caused by the opening of a dam on the Gumti River in Tripura.

The MEA had acknowledged “the catchment areas of Gumti River that flows through India and Bangladesh witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days”, but said the floods in Bangladesh were mainly due to waters from downstream catchments areas.

ALSO READ | “Not Correct…”: Government On Reports India Dam Caused Bangladesh Floods

“The Dumbur dam is located quite far from the border – over 120 km upstream of Bangladesh. It is a low height (about 30m) dam that generates power that feeds into a grid and from which Bangladesh also draws 40MW power from Tripura,” the ministry had said.

“Heavy rainfall has been continuing since August 21 in the whole of Tripura and adjoining districts of Bangladesh. Data showing rising trend has been supplied to Bangladesh till 1500 on August 21. At 1800, due to flooding, there was power outage leading to problems of communication… we tried to maintain communication through other means…”

“As two countries sharing 54 common cross-border rivers, river water cooperation is an important part of our bilateral engagement. We remain committed to resolving issues and mutual concerns in water resources and river water management through bilateral consultations and technical discussions,” the MEA said in a statement.

Floods on the common rivers between India and Bangladesh are a shared problem inflicting sufferings to people on both sides, and requires close mutual cooperation towards resolving them, it added. 

ALSO READ | Explained: The Farakka Barrage Pact Amid ‘Fake News’ On Bangladesh Floods

People wade through flood water in Feni, Bangladesh, on August 24, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Nearly 3,00,000 Bangladeshis were taking refuge in emergency shelters on Saturday from floods that inundated vast areas of the low-lying South Asian country, disaster officials said.

The floods were triggered by heavy monsoon rains and have killed at least 42 people in Bangladesh and India since the start of the week, many in landslides.

“My house is completely inundated,” Lufton Nahar, 60, told AFP from a relief shelter in Feni, one of the worst-hit districts near the border with India’s Tripura state.

“Water is flowing above our roof. My brother brought us here by boat. If he hadn’t, we would have died.”

The nation of 170 million people is crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers and has seen frequent floods in recent decades.

Monsoon rains cause widespread destruction every year but climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events.

Highways and rail lines were damaged between the capital Dhaka and the main port city of Chittagong, making access to badly flooded districts difficult and disrupting business activity.

The flooding also comes just weeks after a student-led revolution toppled Bangladesh’s government.

Among the worst affected areas is Cox’s Bazar, a district home to around a million Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar.

Tripura state disaster agency official Sarat Kumad Das told AFP that 24 people had been killed on the Indian side of the border since Monday.

Another 18 had been killed in Bangladesh, according to disaster management ministry secretary Md Kamrul Hasan.

“285,000 people are living in emergency shelters,” he said, adding that 4.5 million people in total had been affected.

Recovering from unrest

When the floods hit, Bangladesh was recovering from weeks of civil unrest that culminated in the August 5 toppling of autocratic ex-leader Sheikh Hasina.

With an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus still finding its feet, ordinary Bangladeshis have been crowdfunding relief efforts.

They have been organised by the same students who led the protests that sparked the ouster of Hasina, who remains in India after fleeing Dhaka.

Crowds visited Dhaka University on Friday to offer cash donations as students loaded rice sacks and crates of bottled water onto vehicles for areas affected by the deluge.

Much of Bangladesh is made up of deltas where the great Himalayan rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, wind towards the sea after coursing through India.

Several tributaries of the two transnational rivers were still overflowing.

However, forecasts showed rain was likely to ease in the coming days.

‘Creating a flood’

India was Hasina’s biggest patron and benefactor and many Bangladeshis have since been openly critical of their bigger and more powerful neighbour for backing her 15-year rule.

Asif Mahmud, a leader of the student protests who is now in Yunus’ caretaker cabinet, accused India on Wednesday of “creating a flood” by deliberately releasing water from dams.

Hundreds of people also gathered at Dhaka University on Friday to protest against India’s “water aggression”, featuring a banner showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi supposedly delighting at the sight of drowning people.

India’s foreign ministry has rejected the charge, saying its own catchment area this week had experienced the “heaviest rains of this year” and that the flow of water downstream was due to “automatic releases”.

The impact of floods remains severe in India’s Tripura state, with around 65,000 people sheltering across 450 relief camps, according to local media reports.

People navigate a flooded street following incessant rains in Feni, a coastal district in southeast Bangladesh bordering Tripura on Thursday (August 22, 2024).
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof. Mohammad Yunus on Thursday (August 22, 2024) met Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma in a meeting that the Indian side described as a “normal call on”. The meeting came minutes after Prof Yunus met his senior colleagues over the unprecedented floods in the eastern districts of Bangladesh that his administration has blamed on India releasing water from neighbouring Tripura without “early warning”. The meeting was scheduled at 4:30 p.m. Bangladesh time.

Information and Broadcasting Adviser Nahid Islam said India has behaved in an inhumane manner by releasing water without early warning. He said this during a meeting with the media in Dhaka.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday (August 22, 2024) denied reports of floods in the eastern districts of Bangladesh were caused due to the opening of the Dumbur dam in Tripura.

Western Tripura and parts of Bangladesh have been inundated with rain in the last few days and this was largely responsible for the flooding in downstream Bangladesh. The Dumbur dam, a hydropower project, had been “auto-releasing” water as a consequence of the rainfall, their statement noted.

The Dumbnur dam is a hydroelectric project and is built upon the Gumti river which flows through India and Bangladesh.

Heavy rainfall has been continuing since August 21 in the whole of Tripura and the adjoining districts of Bangladesh. Relentless monsoon rains and flooding have stranded nearly three million people in Bangladesh and killed two, submerging vast areas and damaging homes and infrastructure, officials from the country’s disaster management ministry said on Thursday.

People wade through a flooded street amid rainfall in Feni, Bangladesh on August 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday denied that floods in eastern districts of Bangladesh were caused due to the opening of the Dumbur dam in Tripura. The clarification comes after protesters in Bangladesh blamed India for floods in eastern districts, triggering security threats for the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. Later in the day, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma met Chief Adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, Mohammad Yunus, in Dhaka and expressed “concern” about the heightened security threats to the Indian mission and personnel based there.

“We have seen concerns being expressed in Bangladesh that the current situation of flood in districts on the eastern borders of Bangladesh has been caused by opening of the Dumbur dam upstream of the Gumti river in Tripura. This is factually not correct,” the MEA said in a statement.

Western Tripura and parts of Bangladesh have been inundated with rain in the last few days and this was largely responsible for the flooding in downstream Bangladesh. The Dumbur dam, a hydropower project, had been “auto releasing” water as a consequence of the rainfall, the MEA statement noted.

The Dumbnur dam is built upon the Gumti river which flows through India and Bangladesh.

Tripura has witnessed heavy rainfall, with ‘extremely heavy’ rainfall being reported over southern and western Tripura from August 19 to 22, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

“We would like to point out that the catchment areas of Gumti river that flows through India and Bangladesh have witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days. The flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to waters from these large catchments downstream of the dam,” the MEA statement emphasised.

Rainfall has been continuing since August 21 in the whole of Tripura and adjoining districts of Bangladesh.

“In the event of heavy inflow, automatic releases had been observed from the dam,” their communique noted.

Automatic releases are a feature of dams that store water for power generation and meant to ensure that water doesn’t exceed a certain level to ensure the reservoir’s stability.

Amarpur station is part of a bilateral protocol under which India had been transmitting real-time flood data to Bangladesh.

Indian authorities had communicated the rising water level trends to Bangladesh up to 3 p.m. on August 21, 2024. However, a power outage had disrupted this flow of information from 6 p.m. though India had been communicating flood data to Bangladesh “through other means,” the MEA said.

Floods on the common rivers between India and Bangladesh were a shared problem inflicting “sufferings to people on both sides”, and required close mutual cooperation towards resolving them.

India and Bangladesh shared 54 common cross-border rivers and river water cooperation was an important part of bilateral engagement.

“We remain committed to resolving issues and mutual concerns in water resources and river water management through bilateral consultations and technical discussions,” the communique noted.

Security threats

In Dhaka, Indian High Commissioner Mr. Verma, during his introductory meeting with Prof. Yunus, expressed “concern” about the heightened security threats to the Indian High Commission and personnel based there, a senior Government of Bangladesh official informed. The information was shared during a press briefing held after the Indian envoy met Prof. Yunus as some of the persisting anti-Hasina protests — both online as well as on the streets — also threatened Indian interests after multiple eastern districts of Bangladesh were swept by a ferocious flood that the agitators blamed upon India.

“Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma, in his meeting with Prof. Yunus, expressed concern over the safety and security of the High Commission and the Indian personnel,” said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the Chief Adviser’s Office of the interim government of Bangladesh. He said the Indian envoy’s request for more extensive security for the Indian diplomatic addresses and personnel in Bangladesh was prompted by the aggressive anti-India comments made by citizens of Bangladesh on social media platforms where they blamed the Indian authorities for the floods and threatened to “march on” to the High Commission. Mr. Alam said that responding to the threats against Indian interests conveyed on social media, the authorities here had already increased the presence of security personnel in the diplomatic zone of Dhaka since Wednesday morning. Mr. Alam said the meeting between the Indian High Commissioner and Prof. Yunus was held in a “cordial atmosphere” and both sides discussed how to deepen the bilateral relationship.

‘Introductory call’

The High Commission of India announced that the meeting was an “introductory call” by Mr. Verma on Prof. Yunus, adding that during the meeting the Indian envoy “reiterated India’s commitment to working with Bangladesh to fulfill shared aspirations of peoples of India and Bangladesh for peace, security and development.” A day after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, India had flown back its “non-essential” staff from the High Commission as the protesters began to blame India for giving shelter to Ms. Hasina. In the current circumstances, the request for more extensive security measures from the Indian envoy delivered directly to Prof. Yunus in the first meeting itself is being viewed here as “unprecedented”.

Apart from anti-India opinion on social media, Dhaka experienced on Wednesday spontaneous and widely televised protests that blamed India for the floods. The sentiment was reflected in the comments by student adviser for information and broadcasting Nahid Islam who met the domestic and foreign media outside Prof. Yunus’ residence at the state guest house Jamuna in the afternoon and said, “India has acted in an inhumane manner by opening the dam [in Tripura] without giving early warning.” The remarks from Mr. Islam and Adviser for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Syeda Rizwana Hasan came soon after both attended an urgent meeting with Prof. Yunus to discuss the floods. Subsequently, in an off the record remark to The Hindu, a senior official source however said Prof. Yunus was taking a dialogue-based approach to India and hinted that some of the aggressive comments from the student representatives might be directed at their “constituency”.  

New Delhi:

Flooding in the eastern districts of Bangladesh – which is facing political turmoil after violent protests forced Sheikh Hasina to resign as Prime Minister and flee to India – were not caused by the opening of a dam on the Gumti River in Tripura, the government clarified Thursday.

The External Affairs Ministry acknowledged “the catchment areas of Gumti River that flows through India and Bangladesh witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days”, but said the floods in Bangladesh were mainly due to waters from downstream catchments areas.

“The Dumbur dam is located quite far from the border – over 120 km upstream of Bangladesh. It is a low height (about 30m) dam that generates power that feeds into a grid and from which Bangladesh also draws 40MW power from Tripura,” the ministry said.

“Heavy rainfall has been continuing since August 21 in the whole of Tripura and adjoining districts of Bangladesh. Data showing rising trend has been supplied to Bangladesh till 1500 on August 21. At 1800, due to flooding, there was power outage leading to problems of communication… we tried to maintain communication through other means…”

Heavy rains in the region have also led to floods on the Indian side of the border – in Tripura.

More than 34,000 people have been displaced so far due to the floods in the northeastern state.

READ | 10 Dead, Several Missing, 34,000 Displaced After Flash Floods In Tripura

Officials said on Wednesday that at least nine people, including three members of a family, were killed and two others were injured in separate incidents of landslides and drowning following incessant rain. Officials also said most of the state’s prominent rivers were flowing above critical levels while the main river – Gumti – had crossed the ‘extreme danger level’.

The weather department on Tuesday said the heavy rains were the result of a low-pressure area persisting over central parts of Bangladesh and the neighbouring region.

Over in Bangladesh, multiple deaths have been reported due to the floods, which have affected eight districts – Sunamganj, Maulvibazar, Habiganj, Feni, Chittagong, Noakhali, Comilla, and Khagrachari – according to local media reports.

The death count from floods in Bangladesh this week has risen to eight, leaving more than two million affected after heavy rains caused major rivers to burst their banks, officials confirmed Saturday.

The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen more frequent floods in recent decades.

Climate change has made rainfall more erratic and melting glaciers upstream in the Himalayan mountains.

Two teenage boys were killed when a boat capsized in flood waters in Shahjadur, the northern rural town’s police chief Sabuj Rana told AFP.

“There were nine people in the small boat. Seven swam to safety. Two boys did not know how to swim. They drowned,” he said.

Bishwadeb Roy, a police chief in Kurigram, told AFP that three others had been killed in two separate electrocution incidents after their boats became entangled with live electricity wires in flood water.

Another three died in separate flood-related incidents around the country, officials told AFP earlier this week.

The government said it has opened hundreds of shelters for people displaced by the waters and sent food and relief to hard-hit districts in the country’s north region.

“More than two million people have been affected by the floods. Seventeen of the country’s 64 districts have been affected,” Kamrul Hasan, the secretary of the country’s disaster management ministry, told AFP.

Hasan said the flood situation may worsen in the north over the coming days with the Brahmaputra, one of Bangladesh’s main waterways, flowing above danger levels in some areas.

In the worst-hit Kurigram district, eight out of nine rural towns have been marooned by flood water, local disaster and relief official Abdul Hye told AFP.

“We live with floods here. But this year the water was very high. In three days, Brahmaputra rose by six to eight feet (2-2.5 metres),” Abdul Gafur, a local councillor in the district, told AFP.

“Flood water has inundated more than 80 percent of homes in my area. We are trying to deliver food, especially rice and edible oil. But there is a drinking water crisis.”

Bangladesh is in the middle of the annual summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80 percent of its annual rainfall, as well as regular deaths and destruction due to flooding and landslides.

The rainfall is hard to forecast and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

This aerial view shows an area partially submerged in flood at Rangpur district on July 6, 2024. The death toll from floods in Bangladesh this week has risen to eight, leaving more than two million affected after heavy rains caused major rivers to burst their banks, officials confirmed on July 6
| Photo Credit: AFP

The death toll from floods in Bangladesh this week has risen to eight, leaving more than two million affected after heavy rains caused major rivers to burst their banks, officials confirmed on July 6.

The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen more frequent floods in recent decades.

Climate change has made rainfall more erratic and melting glaciers upstream in the Himalayan mountains.

Two teenage boys were killed when a boat capsized in flood waters in Shahjadur, the northern rural town’s police chief Sabuj Rana told AFP.

“There were nine people in the small boat. Seven swam to safety. Two boys did not know how to swim. They drowned,” he said.

Bishwadeb Roy, a police chief in Kurigram, said that three others had been killed in two separate electrocution incidents after their boats became entangled with live electricity wires in flood water.

Another three died in separate flood-related incidents around the country, officials told AFP earlier this week.

The government said it has opened hundreds of shelters for people displaced by the waters and sent food and relief to hard-hit districts in the country’s north region.

“More than two million people have been affected by the floods. Seventeen of the country’s 64 districts have been affected,” Kamrul Hasan, the secretary of the country’s disaster management ministry, told AFP.

Hasan said the flood situation may worsen in the north over the coming days with the Brahmaputra, one of Bangladesh’s main waterways, flowing above danger levels in some areas.

In the worst-hit Kurigram district, eight out of nine rural towns have been marooned by flood water, local disaster and relief official Abdul Hye told AFP.

“We live with floods here. But this year the water was very high. In three days, Brahmaputra rose by six to eight feet [2-2.5 metres],” Abdul Gafur, a local councillor in the district, told AFP.

“Flood water has inundated more than 80 percent of homes in my area. We are trying to deliver food, especially rice and edible oil. But there is a drinking water crisis.”

Bangladesh is in the middle of the annual summer monsoon, which brings South Asia 70-80% of its annual rainfall, as well as regular deaths and destruction due to flooding and landslides.

The rainfall is hard to forecast and varies considerably, but scientists say climate change is making the monsoon stronger and more erratic.