New Delhi: India on Thursday dismissed claims that the flooding in neighbouring Bangladesh was caused by the release of water from the Dumbur Dam on the Gumti River in Tripura.
The Ministry of External Affairs clarified in a statement that the flooding in the eastern border districts of Bangladesh is not due to the opening of the dam. The statement emphasized that this assertion is factually incorrect.
It explained that the catchment areas of the Gumti River, which flows through both India and Bangladesh, have experienced the heaviest rainfall of the year in recent days.
The flooding in Bangladesh is mainly attributed to the overflow from these extensive catchments situated downstream from the dam.
The Dumbur Dam, situated more than 120 kilometres upstream from the India-Bangladesh border, is approximately 30 meters tall and contributes power to a grid. Bangladesh also receives 40MW of power from this grid, sourced from Tripura.
There are three water level observation sites along the 120-kilometer stretch of the river in India, located at Amarpur, Sonamura, and Sonamura 2 in Tripura.
Continuous heavy rainfall has been recorded since August 21 in Tripura and the adjacent districts of Bangladesh, leading to automatic water releases in cases of significant inflow.
