India rejects reports linking Bangladesh floods to opening of dam in Tripura
The MEA said the Dumbur dam is located quite far from the border and that the floods were mainly due to waters from downstream catchment areas
A man carrying his pet dog shifts to a safer place after heavy rains cause flooding at Adhayanagar village on the outskirts of Agartala in Tripura on August 22. | Photo: PTI
The Indian government clarified on Thursday (August 22) that flooding in the eastern districts of Bangladesh was not caused by the opening of a dam on the Gumti river in Tripura.
There have been local media reports in Bangladesh about multiple deaths due to the floods which have affected 8 districts.
India’s External Affairs Ministry issued a statement, “The catchment areas of Gumti River that flows through India and Bangladesh witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days. But the floods in Bangladesh were mainly due to waters from downstream catchment areas.”
“The Dumbur dam is located quite far from the border – over 120 km upstream of Bangladesh. It is a low-height dam (about 30m) that generates power that feeds into a grid from which Bangladesh also draws 40MW power from Tripura,” said the ministry.
“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,” continued the ministry.
Indian officials said that heavy rains in the region have also led to floods on the Indian side of the border, in Tripura, leading to the deaths of 10 people and almost 34,000 people being rendered homeless.
The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday (August 21) said the unprecedented rains were due to a low-pressure area over central parts of Bangladesh and the neighbouring region.