Flood situation starts improving in greater Rangpur districts

Flood situation started improving in all five districts of greater Rangpur in the Brahmaputra basin following significant falls in water levels of the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar in the last 24 hours ending at 9am on Monday.

Officials of Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) said water levels of the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar marked falls as the rate of onrushing water from upstream reduced and the trend would continue during the next 24 hours.

No fresh areas were inundated and floodwater continued receding to improve the situation in affected low-lying and char areas of Kurigram, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Rangpur districts.

Meanwhile, incidents of sporadic erosion of riverbanks were reported from few places alongside the Teesta, Dharla, Brahmaputra and other rivers in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Gaibandha during the last few days.

Chief Engineer of BWDB's Rangpur Zone Md Mahbubur Rahman told BSS that the flood situation started improving as the rate of onrushing water from upstream significantly reduced amid less rainfall in the last 24 hours in the Brahmaputra basin.

"We are conducting riverbank protection works on an emergency basis at some erosion-prone vulnerable points alongside major rivers in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Gaibandha districts," Rahman added.

During the last 24 hours ending at 9am on Monday, water levels of the Teesta marked sharp falls by 37cm at Kawnia point in Rangpur and 45cm at Dalia point in Nilphamari districts.

"The Teesta was flowing below its respective danger marks (DM) by 5cm at Kawnia and 45cm at Dalia points at 9am today," Rahman said.

Meanwhile, water levels of the Dudhkumar and Dharla marked falls by 19cm at Pateshwari and 3cm at Kurigram points during the period and were flowing below the respective DM by 63cm and 181cm respectively at these points at 9am on Monday.

On the other hand, water levels of the Ghagot, Brahmaputra and Jamuna were still on the trend and flowing well below their respective DM at 9am on Monday.

Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) for Rangpur region Md Obaidur Rahman Mondal told BSS that floodwater started receding from the submerged crop fields with improvement of the deluge situation from Sunday night.

Standing crops, mostly Aman rice and vegetables, in 1,432 hectares of land have been submerged under floodwater in low-lying and char areas of 17 upazilas in Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Gaibandha and Kurigram districts in the region.

"However, there might only be very little damage to submerged crops if flood-water recedes within the next couple days," he added.

Acting Rangpur Divisional Commissioner Md Azmal Hossain said the district and upazila administrations and BWDB authorities are closely observing the developing circumstances in deluge-prone areas.

"The Deputy Commissioners and UNOs are visiting the affected areas and closely monitoring the situation with officials of other departments concerned despite the situation starting to improve in deluge-hit districts of Rangpur division," he added.