About 50 lakh people in Bangladesh were stranded by floods in low-lying areas, as strong currents washed away river embankments, according to a Bloomberg report. The death count rose to 15 as at least five rivers in the nation faced the severest flooding since 2018, according to government data.
The districts affected by floods include Cumilla, Noakhali, Brahmanbaria, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet and Habiganj.
“These are the worst floods we have seen in three decades,” Liakath Ali, director of climate change at non-governmental organization BRAC, said.
The floods have added pressure on the interim government led by Nobel laurate Muhammad Yunus, which is already grappling with a host of political and economic challenges.
Authorities have opened 3,176 shelters for flood victims and deployed 639 medical teams. Breakdowns in telecommunications, interruptions to transport and flooded roads and highways are complicating rescue efforts, according to BRAC.
The latest report from Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said five rivers in the eastern part of the country were flowing above the danger level.
On August 23, Yunus in a meeting with the Indian envoy proposed that the two countries should consider a mechanism for high-level collaboration to tackle floods as both share several rivers and catchment areas.
Bangladesh is crisscrossed by more than 200 rivers, 54 of them being transboundary rivers with upper riparian India in four major basins.
MEA dismisses 'conspiracy' claims
Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of External Affairs on August 23 clarified that the floods that have hit several districts in eastern Bangladesh were not triggered by release of water from Dumbur dam in Tripura, as has been claimed by some social media accounts.
The MEA explained that “the catchment areas of Gumti river that flows through India and Bangladesh have witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days” and “the flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to waters from these large catchments downstream of the dam”.
The ministry issued the clarification after unsubstantiated claims appeared on social media about the opening of the Gumti hydro-electric project floodgates. Some Bangladeshi handles alleged without evidence an Indian “conspiracy” to “punish” the country’s post-Hasina rulers.