Teesta rises close to danger level as upstream runoff, rain force 44 barrage gates open

The river is flowing just 5cm below the danger mark at the Dalia monitoring station

The water level of the Teesta River has risen again due to upstream runoff and heavy rainfall, reaching 5cm below the danger level at the Dalia monitoring point in Nilphamari.

Authorities have opened 44 gates of the Teesta Barrage to ease the pressure from the rising water.

Nurul Islam, a water level observer at the Dalia Division of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), said that at 9am on Monday, the water level at the Dalia point in Dimla Upazila of Nilphamari, where the country's largest irrigation project, the Teesta Barrage, is located, was recorded at 52.10m.

"It is flowing 5cm below the danger level. The danger level at this point is 52.15m," he said.

He added that the water level was at the same mark at 6am on Monday.

Amitabh Chowdhury, executive engineer of the BWDB's Dalia Division, said: "The Teesta River is flowing 5cm below the danger level as of 9am. The water level may rise further."

"To manage the situation, 44 gates of the Teesta Barrage have been kept open," he added.

[Updates to follow]