The recent devastating floods in southeastern Bangladesh have sparked a heated debate, with accusations flying regarding the involvement of India’s Dumbur reservoir in Tripura. Claims that India’s decision to release water from the reservoir exacerbated the already severe floods brought on by the nonstop monsoon rains are at the heart of the debate.
Sultan Mohammed Zakaria, co-founder of the Bangladeshi Diaspora for Justice and Accountability and associate editor at South Asia Perspectives-SAP, launched a scathing attack on New Delhi in an opinion piece published in The Dhaka Tribune. He accused New Delhi of causing the catastrophic flooding that has devastated Bangladesh’s entire south-eastern region—flooding of a scale not seen in generations. Zakaria brazenly pointed the blame at Indian officials, claiming that they had purposefully opened the Dumbur Reservoir’s gates in Tripura for the first time in thirty years, dumping a deluge of water on a region that was already overrun by nonstop monsoon rains.
It’s difficult to understand Zakaria’s frustration—if the floodgates were opened for the first time in thirty years, what exactly is the problem? Were they meant to be locked up forever? In actuality, the area has been hit by nonstop rain in recent days. It’s possible that Dhaka was too focused on using political maneuvers to undermine former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to notice the torrential downpour. Maybe a raincheck that was missed.
Without holding back, Zakaria asserted that had India not chosen to release the enormous amounts of water, the disaster’s magnitude may have been much reduced. He said that the region had descended into chaos as a result of India’s abrupt and extraordinary intervention, with the floods drowning large areas of land and leaving thousands of people in despair. It is unclear what drives Zakaria’s intense accusations—whether it is a deep-seated resentment of India or sincere grief for the innumerable lives that the floods have destroyed.
Professor Mashfiqus Salehin of the Water and Flood Research Institute at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology wrote an article that was published in Prothom Alo that Zakaria would find insightful.
Salehin notes that the unusual rainfall pattern is one of the main causes of this year’s extreme flooding. Muhuri, Feni, and Gumti rivers—whose catchment regions are mainly located in Tripura—have been severely flooded by heavy rains that have lashed the Indian state of Tripura, caused by low-pressure systems.
This has resulted in significant flooding in Bangladesh’s Feni and Comilla districts. This flood made matters worse because Bangladesh was experiencing continuous rains. It’s important to note that these rivers’ water levels had already reached dangerously high by the end of July, almost filling the floodplain reservoirs.
With a well-informed viewpoint on the recent rainfall patterns, Professor Mashfiqus Salehin observed that the rain started on August 19 and became considerably heavier on August 20, with the area receiving 150 to 300 millimeters of rain.
Amarpur, which is situated above the Gumti watershed, recorded 267 mm, Comilla recorded 210 mm, and Parshuram, which is close to the Muhuri River, recorded 304 mm. On August 21, there was a little drop in rainfall, but within the next day, it increased once more.
As a specialist in the area, Salehin refuted the assertions that the flooding in Bangladesh’s eastern border regions was brought on by the opening of the Dumbur Dam gates on the Gomti River in Tripura’s Dhalai district. These claims were primarily made by those with a weak grasp of flood dynamics. He said it would be inaccurate to blame the disaster entirely on the dam’s gate release.
The locational context was emphasized by Salehin, who noted that the dam in question is situated 120 km from the border with Bangladesh. Salehin emphasized that the rainfall inside the catchment area defines the flood flow at Bangladesh’s border in the main, taking into account the dam’s size, water storage capacity, distance from the border, volume of water discharged, and the heavy rainfall across the catchment.
He added that the Feni River does not have a dam and that certain barrages on other rivers did not cause the flooding because all of their gates were open at the time. Salehin also emphasized the issue of inadequate drainage systems, emphasizing that improved planning and reducing flood damage should take precedence before assigning responsibility.
Salehin emphasized the benefits of India and Bangladesh working together and said that information sharing under bilateral agreements has been working well, with India giving Bangladesh data from many water monitoring stations during the previous eight to ten years. He did concede, though, that this cooperative endeavor could use some refinement.
Zakaria appears to have been hibernating for some time before exploding with fury and accusing India of building dams on its own initiative and controlling water flows arbitrarily, which he says has made Bangladesh perpetually vulnerable to flooding or drought. He continues by claiming that the ecosystem has suffered greatly and millions of lives have been destroyed by this supposedly careless behavior.
Zakaria even proceeded to give a lecture in which he said that India was required by international law to notify Bangladesh of any activities that could result in significant harm down the line. He blamed India for reportedly neglecting to inform Bangladesh prior to opening the gates of the Dumbur Reservoir, which caused extensive disruption and destruction. Really?
Let’s face it, even if India had miraculously told Dhaka three days ahead of time of the opening of the Dumbur Reservoir gates, how prepared would Bangladesh have been? The hard truth is that it would never have mattered. Simply said, Bangladesh is ill-prepared to deal with this kind of flooding, either ahead of time or not. The sooner more astute minds like Zakaria accept this, the better for the faltering country.
In a fit of rage, Zakaria declared that at least thirty of the 54 transboundary rivers that the two nations share have dams built on them, citing the Farakka Dam as the most notorious due to its disastrous effects on northern Bangladesh.
He continued by saying that the water that flows via these rivers is essential to more than 80% of Bangladesh’s 20 million small farmers. But is Zakaria really saying that Bangladesh wouldn’t have any floods if these dams didn’t exist? Have those in Bangladesh who are adopting Zakaria’s ideas abandoned science and common sense?
Zakaria mentioned a number of international laws, including The Espoo Convention (1991), Articles 5 and 6 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (1997), and Article 7 of the 1997 Convention, as if he were given permission to disseminate false information.
He claimed to be an expert, and claimed that India has been breaking these regulations on a regular basis. He continued by asserting that India has never acknowledged Bangladesh’s and its people’s rights under international law.
Maybe a basic history lesson on the events of December 1971 from any Bangladeshi schoolbook will help him remember the details he conveniently left out of his hateful outburst. Zakaria defends his baseless charges by citing the purported causes of Bangladeshi people’s resentment toward India. However, who is he to speak for his fellow countrymen? Someone who is not striving to be someone?
The inauguration of the Dumbur dam on the Gumti river in Tripura is causing floods in eastern regions, while Bangladesh has expressed worries. However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs emphasized on Thursday that these concerns are unfounded.
The ministry noted that, rather than the dam itself, the current flooding in Bangladesh is mostly the result of intense rainfall in the Gumti River’s catchment areas. Salehin even brought this up in his Prothom Alo article.
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The ministry stated that Bangladesh has been receiving real-time flood data from India, which has three water level monitoring points along the river. Although there have been a lot of rain since August 21, attempts have been taken to keep data transmission going.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India, a developed nation, emphasized that flooding in shared rivers is a problem that both nations must work to solve. Salehin even made reference to this in his piece. The ministry also emphasized India’s commitment to using bilateral meetings and technical discussions to manage river water and resolve concerns related to water resources.
Nahid Islam, the information and broadcasting adviser for Bangladesh, called India “inhumane” at a press conference in Dhaka for not giving advance notice, but before he throws blame around, he ought to look over India’s official response, Salehin’s article in Prothom Alo, and the actual state of his nation’s resources.
The fact is that Bangladesh did not sufficiently prepare for this tragedy, even though it experiences floods every year. Reliable rainfall forecasts and prompt warnings are essential for efficient flood control. Without them, responding to catastrophic floods becomes extremely difficult and reveals serious gaps in preparation. Everything should be pre-planned, or at the very least, a strong framework should be in place, from evacuation preparations to rehabilitation initiatives.
Sadly, Bangladesh has not made these arrangements and has instead chosen to hold India responsible for a situation that is out of its hands.
