Floods have struck the border districts of Bangladesh. The neighbouring country blamed India for this. However, India has outrightly rejected it. The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying, “We have expressed concern in Bangladesh that the current flood situation in the districts on the eastern border of Bangladesh has been caused by the opening of the Dumbur dam on the Gumti river in Tripura. This is not factually correct.”
The Ministry of External Affairs said, “We would like to point out that the catchment areas of the Gumti River flowing through India and Bangladesh have received the heaviest rainfall this year in the last few days. The floods in Bangladesh are mainly due to the water from these large catchment areas downstream of the dam. Dumbur Dam is located far from the border. It is located 120 km upstream from Bangladesh.
Heavy rains have been continuing across Tripura and the neighbouring districts of Bangladesh since August 21. Water is released automatically in case of heavy floods. The Amarpur station is part of the bilateral protocol under which India is sending real-time flood data to Bangladesh.
Data showing the increasing trend of floods has been sent to Bangladesh till 1500 hrs on 21st August 2024. At 6 hrs, there was a power outage due to the floods, which caused communication problems. Nevertheless, India has tried to maintain communication through other means designed for immediate transmission of data.
Flooding in common rivers between India and Bangladesh is a common problem, causing trouble to people on both sides.