Staff Correspondent:

The water level in the Teesta river has fallen below the danger mark, easing flood conditions in the shoal areas of Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rangpur, and Nilphamari.
Floodwaters have started receding in many places on Tuesday allowing people who had taken shelter on embankments, roads, and flood centres to return home.
Around 9:00am on Tuesday the water level at the Teesta Barrage point in Nilphamari’s Dalia was recorded at 51.70 metres — 45 centimetres below the danger mark. At Kaunia point, the level stood at 29.15 metres, 15 centimetres below the danger mark, according to the Water Development Board (WDB).

Photo: Collected

Amitav Chowdhury, executive engineer of Dalia WDB, said, “There has been no rainfall. The inflow of hill water from upstream has also stopped. There is no possibility of a rise in Teesta water soon. Floodwaters have started receding from the chars and riverside villages, and displaced people are returning home.”
Kurigram WDB Executive Engineer Rakibul Hasan added, “The flood situation has improved, but river erosion may occur in some vulnerable areas as the water level falls. We are keeping watch and will drop sand-filled geo-bags immediately if erosion starts.”
Although water is receding, the sufferings of flood-hit families are far from over. In many low-lying areas, stagnant water still forces locals to live in makeshift huts covered with polythene sheets atop embankments.
Aklima Bewa, 65, a flood victim from Harinchara in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, said, “We Teesta shoal people never see the end of suffering here. During floods, we suffer. When the floodwater goes down, we suffer again. There’s nothing to eat at my house. Now erosion will begin and then the river will take our land and homestead.”
In Kurigram’s Rajarhat upazila, farmer Azizul Islam, 65, from Char Bogurapara village, said floodwater receded from his homestead this morning. “There’s slight damage to my vegetable fields, but the Aman paddy remains safe. Whenever there is rain in monsoon, the Teesta swells, floods our land, and causes misery. Once the water recedes, river erosion begins.”
Shahina Begum, 45, of Kalimati village in Lalmonirhat Sadar, said her family is still living in a polythene-covered shack on the WDB embankment as their home remains waterlogged.
“We moved here Sunday night with our cattle and household belongings. The grazing fields are still underwater, so we are struggling to feed our livestock,” she said.
Lalmonirhat Deputy Commissioner HM Raqib Hayder said, “Relief assistance has been distributed among flood-affected people. If any houses are damaged, the affected families will be rehabilitated with government support.”