[🇧🇩] India's Water Terrorism Against Bangladesh

[Saif]

Feni faces flash flood again as India opens barrage

Thousands of people living along the Muhuri basin in Feni district witnessed something strange waking up on Monday morning when the trans-boundary river swelled by nearly 11 feet in just three hours by 9:00am...

www.newagebd.net

Feni faces flash flood again as India opens barrage
Nazmul Haque Shamim . Feni 22 July, 2025, 00:13

A corrugated iron-roofed house is washed away by flash flood in Feni’s Muhuri basin Monday morning. Thousands of residents are caught off guard as the trans-boundary river swell nearly 11 feet in just three hours despite no prior flood forecast. | New Age photo

Thousands of people living along the Muhuri basin in Feni district witnessed something strange waking up on Monday morning when the trans-boundary river swelled by nearly 11 feet in just three hours by 9:00am.

Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, in its special bulletin issued at 8:25pm on Sunday with the warning of a flash flood along Teesta basin in northern districts did not had any warning against the disaster impending on the south-eastern Bangladesh.

It rained moderate to heavy in the river’s catchment spreading between India’s Tripura and Bangladesh in the preceding 24 hours before the river started rising, not enough to cause such a massive change in its water level overnight.

‘There was not enough rain to have unleashed such a large volume of water,’ said Sarder Udoy Raihan, executive engineer at the FFWC.

Forecasters at the FFWC could only watch as the Muhuri swelled another 119cm between 9:00am and 3:00pm on Monday, flowing just 56cm below the danger level, setting off a flash flood warning for today.

Mostofa Kamal Palash, an independent weather forecaster based in Canada, pointed out as a source of the water India arbitrarily opening its Kalashi barrage.

The reason could be, he wrote on a Facebook post, India emptying the barrage’s storage to tackle the next wet spell likely in just three days.

‘The Joint Rivers Commission, Bangladesh can look into the matter,’ Palash wrote.

The sudden release of water was the last thing Bangladesh expected with many embankments in Parshuram and Fulgazi barely standing with holes dug in them in the latest spell of flash flood early this month. Huge volumes of water gushed through the breaches to engulf low lying areas, including farmland.

‘We did not have a respite for even 10 days. Yet another flash flood hits us,’ said Sajeda Akter, a resident of Sreepur of Fulgazi.

Originating in the southern part of Gomati district in Tripura of India, the Muhuri River, with contribution from tributaries in the Shahebmura hill, flows west to enter Bangladesh through Parshuram. The river merges with the Feni River flowing 35km downstream. The Muhuri and Feni rivers have a combined catchment area of 2,413 square kilometres, which makes them two of the smallest rivers.

Sudden releases of massive volumes of water on the narrow catchment of the Muhuri could mean serious devastation downstream.

India opening its barrages built on many transboundary rivers has been the bone of contention for decades. India almost routinely opens the Gajoldoba barrage without warning Bangladesh whenever the upper riparian nation chooses to do so.

The Teesta rapidly swelled on Sunday after India opened floodgates at the Gajoldoba barrage on Saturday afternoon.

The FFWC forecasters said that they did not have any information shared by India on the Kalashi barrage, which is about 50km upstream from the Indian border with Bangladesh.

Without having information of rain in the catchment of the Muhuri and its water level data, predicting flash flood events is an almost impossible task, the forecasters said.

The FFWC had rainfall info on only one station at Belonia in the river’s basin from India. Belonia received 41.8mm of rain in the 24 hours ending at 9:00am on Monday.

Parshuram in Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced 60.5 mm of rain over the same reporting cycle, the FFWC said.

The FFWC warned that the Feni district was approaching yet another flash flood with a low pressure likely to form over the Bay of Bengal on July 24, potentially bringing up to 350mm of rain over three days in Chattogram and its adjacent areas in upstream Tripura.

Intermittent rainfall caused waterlogging and inundation in Tripura since the first week of July.

Feni suffered a flash flood in the second week of the month when the Muhuri rose about 20 feet above its danger mark in the 24 hours until 9:00am on July 9.

But the early July event occurred amidst record rain. In the 24 hours until 6:00pm on July 9, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded 399mm rain in Feni, the second highest volume of rain the weather station recorded ever since it was established in 1973.

Between July 7 and 9, Feni recorded 584mm rainfall, 80 per cent of the average normal rain for the entire month.

In the 24 hours until 9:00am on Monday, the Teesta swelled by up to 29cm, the FFWC said, flowing 21cm below the danger mark at Kaunia in Rangpur.​

 

[Saif]

India’s arbitrary decision on cross-border river unacceptable

THOUSANDS of people living in the Muhuri basin in Feni recovering from socio-economic losses of the flash flood earlier in July are now faced with similar uncertainty again as the transboundary river swelled by 11 feet in three hours with no warning on June 20. It rained moderately to heavily on...

www.newagebd.net

India’s arbitrary decision on cross-border river unacceptable
24 July, 2025, 00:00

THOUSANDS of people living in the Muhuri basin in Feni recovering from socio-economic losses of the flash flood earlier in July are now faced with similar uncertainty again as the transboundary river swelled by 11 feet in three hours with no warning on June 20. It rained moderately to heavily on the catchment area spreading between India’s Tripura and Bangladesh in the preceding 24 hours before the river started rising, which is not enough to cause such an overnight change in river height. The Bangladesh Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre warned of a flash flood in the Teesta basin in the north but made no mention of the impending disaster in the south-east. Meanwhile, independent weather forecasters point out that India was clearing water from the barrage storage to tackle the impending wet spell and arbitrarily opened the Kalashi barrage. The government should immediately take up the issue with the Joint River Commission and other diplomatic channels.

India opening its barrages built on many transboundary rivers has been the bone of contention for decades. India almost routinely opens the Gajaldoba barrage without warning. The flood forecasting authorities say that they had no information shared by India on the Kalashi barrage, which is about 50km upstream the border. Without having information on rain in the catchment of the Muhuri and its water level data, forecasting flash flood is an almost impossible task. Another flash flood is approaching Feni, with a low likely to form over the Bay of Bengal on July 24, potentially bringing up to 350 millimetres of rain over three days in Chattogram and adjacent areas in upstream Tripura. An unequal access to water in transboundary rivers has also caused the death of many rivers in the north. In the name of sharing, India holds water during the dry season that severely affects farming in the north and opens the gates during the monsoon season to manage flood water in West Bengal. In March, the Joint River Commission agreed on a collaborative approach to address important issues, including information exchange on flood forecasting and water sharing. The flash flood situation in Feni suggests that such promises remain rhetorical as India continues to make arbitrary decisions on river-water sharing.

The government should, therefore, immediately and strongly raise its concern with India that its arbitrary decisions are not only a deviation from the river water sharing decisions but also a violation of international practice and protocols on transboundary river management. The government should also ensure that emergency relief and shelter support are readily available for the affected people in Feni.​

 

[Saif]

Will go to int'l court or UN to secure our fair share of water: Tarique

Rajshahi city BNP holds biennial council

www.thedailystar.net

Will go to int'l court or UN to secure our fair share of water: Tarique​

Rajshahi city BNP held its biennial council today in the city's Pathanpara area, with Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman joining virtually as chief guest.

He pledged to rebuild institutions including education, judiciary, law enforcement, economy, and health, if elected.

In his speech, Tarique warned that the Padma River, once a lifeline for Rajshahi's fertile lands, was drying up due to the Farakka Barrage, turning green fields into arid land.

"Bangladesh is an agriculture-based country. In Rajshahi city, we have seen how the Padma River is drying up. If necessary, we will go to the international court or the United Nations to secure our fair share of water," he said.

He also stressed the need to excavate canals to retain water for farmers and public use in case of future disputes.

Tarique highlighted BNP's 31-point agenda for "repairing the state," first presented nearly two years ago.

He said many of the reforms now under discussion by the interim government's reform commission were already proposed by the BNP.

"Our next step is to implement these 31 points by earning the trust and confidence of the people," he added.

He noted that the interim government was moving toward a national election before Ramadan, which he called the "first step" toward restoring political rights.

At the council, Tarique said BNP would assign duties to strengthen the party, promote its policies, and prepare for governance.

The council was presided over by Rajshahi city BNP Convener Ershad Ali, while Member Secretary Mamun-ur-Rashid conducted the programme.​

 

[Saif]

Why is this joint military exercise by the Indian armed forces near Farakka Barrage? Do the Indian armed forces expect any attempt by the Bangladesh armed forces to knock down Farakka Barrage?

 

[Bilal9]

India’s arbitrary decision on cross-border river unacceptable

THOUSANDS of people living in the Muhuri basin in Feni recovering from socio-economic losses of the flash flood earlier in July are now faced with similar uncertainty again as the transboundary river swelled by 11 feet in three hours with no warning on June 20. It rained moderately to heavily on...

www.newagebd.net

India’s arbitrary decision on cross-border river unacceptable
24 July, 2025, 00:00

THOUSANDS of people living in the Muhuri basin in Feni recovering from socio-economic losses of the flash flood earlier in July are now faced with similar uncertainty again as the transboundary river swelled by 11 feet in three hours with no warning on June 20. It rained moderately to heavily on the catchment area spreading between India’s Tripura and Bangladesh in the preceding 24 hours before the river started rising, which is not enough to cause such an overnight change in river height. The Bangladesh Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre warned of a flash flood in the Teesta basin in the north but made no mention of the impending disaster in the south-east. Meanwhile, independent weather forecasters point out that India was clearing water from the barrage storage to tackle the impending wet spell and arbitrarily opened the Kalashi barrage. The government should immediately take up the issue with the Joint River Commission and other diplomatic channels.

India opening its barrages built on many transboundary rivers has been the bone of contention for decades. India almost routinely opens the Gajaldoba barrage without warning. The flood forecasting authorities say that they had no information shared by India on the Kalashi barrage, which is about 50km upstream the border. Without having information on rain in the catchment of the Muhuri and its water level data, forecasting flash flood is an almost impossible task. Another flash flood is approaching Feni, with a low likely to form over the Bay of Bengal on July 24, potentially bringing up to 350 millimetres of rain over three days in Chattogram and adjacent areas in upstream Tripura. An unequal access to water in transboundary rivers has also caused the death of many rivers in the north. In the name of sharing, India holds water during the dry season that severely affects farming in the north and opens the gates during the monsoon season to manage flood water in West Bengal. In March, the Joint River Commission agreed on a collaborative approach to address important issues, including information exchange on flood forecasting and water sharing. The flash flood situation in Feni suggests that such promises remain rhetorical as India continues to make arbitrary decisions on river-water sharing.

The government should, therefore, immediately and strongly raise its concern with India that its arbitrary decisions are not only a deviation from the river water sharing decisions but also a violation of international practice and protocols on transboundary river management. The government should also ensure that emergency relief and shelter support are readily available for the affected people in Feni.​

"Raising concern" with Indian authorities will do jack squat. Raising tariff is what we need to do. On Indian exports to Bangladesh. Let it be a foregone warning, then - if violated, take the promised action.