Water level in Teesta River receding 12 hours after crossing danger level

The river is flowing 2cm below the danger level at Dalia point in Nilphamari, according to BWDB

The water level in the Teesta River has started receding about 12 hours after upstream inflows and heavy rainfall caused it to cross the danger level at the Dalia point in Nilphamari’s Dimla Upazila.

However, local residents fear the river may rise again at any moment, raising the risk of a short-term flood.

At 9am on Monday, the Teesta was flowing at 52.13m at the Dalia water gauge station (Khalisha Chapani Baishpukur), 2cm below the danger level of 52.15m, said Amitabh Chowdhury, executive engineer of the Dalia Division of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) in Nilphamari.

At 6pm on Sunday, the river had risen to 52.22m, 7cm above the danger level, he said.

According to Chowdhury, the water level increased by another 5cm by 8pm, reaching 12cm above the danger mark before starting to recede from 9pm.

At 6am on Monday, the river was flowing exactly at the danger level, before falling to 52.13m by 9am.

All 44 gates of the Teesta Barrage remain open, he said, adding that the situation is currently normal as the water level has declined.

Nurul Islam, a gauge reader at the BWDB's Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre in Dalia, said the river was flowing 18cm below the danger level at 51.97m at 9am on Sunday.

The water level rose by 6cm to 52.03m by 3pm before surging another 19cm over the next three hours to reach 52.22m at 6pm, 7cm above the danger level.

By 8pm, the river flow went up another 5cm to 52.27m, or 12cm above the danger mark, before beginning to fall from 9pm.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall continues across northern parts of India's West Bengal, including Sikkim, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Siliguri, Sevoke and Cooch Behar.

The runoff is entering Bangladesh through the Gajoldoba Barrage before flowing downstream via the Domohani and Mekhliganj points.

The renewed rise in the Teesta on Sunday afternoon inundated low-lying areas in about 20 villages under Purba Chhatnai, Khagakharibari, Tepakharibari, Khalisha Chapani, Jhunagach Chapani and Goyabari unions in Dimla, as well as Golmunda, Dauabari and Shaulmari unions in Jaldhaka Upazila.

Hundreds of people remain stranded by floodwaters.

Abdul Latif Khan, chairman of the East Chhatnai Union Parishad, said floodwater entered Jharsingheshwar and East Chhatnai villages after the river crossed the danger level, leaving around 1,200 families marooned.

Rabiul Islam Shahin, chairman of Tepakharibari Union Parishad, said low-lying villages in his union had also been inundated, affecting around 1,350 families.

Although the water has started receding since Monday morning, the flood threat still remains, he said.

"If heavy rainfall continues in India, a major flood may occur in the coming days," Shahin said, urging the BWDB to remain cautious and take necessary measures.