Heavy rains to blame for Bangladesh floods, not Tripura dam opening: MEA

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 22

India on Thursday refuted allegations that floods in neighbouring Bangladesh were caused by the opening of a dam on Gumti River in Tripura, saying it was factually incorrect. Also, sources in India said Bangladesh media claiming that Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma was summoned over the matter were nothing but disinformation.

“Verma paid his introductory call on Professor Muhammad Yunus, who heads the interim government in Bangladesh, on Thursday evening,” said the Indian High Commission in a post on X. “Reiterated India’s commitment to working with Bangladesh to fulfil shared aspirations of peoples India-Bangladesh for peace, security and development (sic),” said the post, with two photographs of Yunus and Verma.

Sources said a request for a meeting with Chief Adviser Yunus had been made several days ago, before events related to floods. The meet, incidentally, came a day after Bangladesh Nationalist Party sought her extradition from India.

On flooding, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying that it has 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 in Tripura. “This is factually not correct,” the statement said. Information and Broadcasting Adviser in Bangladesh Nahid Islam said India has behaved in an inhuman manner by releasing water without early warning. Sources in India said any official backing of such misplaced narratives would affect ties. The MEA said the catchment areas of the Gumti have witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days. The flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to waters from these catchments downstream of the dam.

The dam is located over 120 km upstream of Bangladesh, the ministry said. "It is a low-height (about 30 m) dam that generates power that feeds into a grid and from which Bangladesh also draws 40MW power from Tripura," the MEA noted.

Along the about 120-km river course, India has three water-level observation sites at Amarpur, Sonamura and Sonamura 2 in Tripura.

Heavy rainfall has been continuing since August 21 in Tripura and adjoining districts of Bangladesh. The Amarpur station is in part of a bilateral protocol under which real-time flood data is sent to Bangladesh.

Data showing rising trend has been supplied to Bangladesh up to 3 pm on August 21. Around 6 pm, flooding caused a power outage leading to problems of communication.