India’s Gumti river dam water release NOT responsible for Bangladesh flood: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs clarified that the opening of the Dumbur dam upstream of the Gumti River in Tripura is not responsible for the current flood situation in districts along Bangladesh’s eastern borders.
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“We would like to point out that the catchment areas of Gumti River that flows through India and Bangladesh have witnessed the heaviest rains of this year over the last few days,” the MEA said in a release.
The Ministry of External Affairs also noted that the catchment areas of the Gumti River, which flows through India and Bangladesh, have experienced the heaviest rainfall of the year in recent days. The floods in Bangladesh are primarily caused by runoff from these extensive catchments downstream of the dam.
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Additionally, the Ministry emphasized that the Dumbur dam is situated over 120 kilometers upstream from the Bangladesh border. The dam, which is about 30 meters high, generates power that feeds into a grid, from which Bangladesh receives 40 MW of electricity from Tripura.
“Along the about 120 Km river course, we have three water level observation sites at Amarpur, Sonamura, and Sonamura 2. Heavy rainfall has been continuing since 21 August in the whole of Tripura and adjoining districts of Bangladesh. In the event of heavy inflow, automatic releases have been observed,” it said.
“Amarpur station is in part of a bilateral protocol under which we are transmitting real-time flood data to Bangladesh,” it added.
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The Ministry also highlighted that data indicating a rising trend was provided to Bangladesh up to 3:00 PM on August 21. However, at 6:00 PM, a power outage caused by flooding disrupted communication. Despite this, efforts were made to maintain contact through alternative methods set up for urgent data transmission.
“Floods on the common rivers between India and Bangladesh are a shared problem inflicting suffering to people on both sides and requires close cooperation towards resolving them. As two countries sharing 54 common cross-border rivers, river water cooperation is an important part of our bilateral engagement. We remain committed to resolving issues and mutual concerns in water resources and river water management through bilateral consultations and technical discussions,” the MEA added.
(With inputs from ANI)