Staff Correspondent:

Over 100,000 people have been stranded as the Teesta and Dudhkumar rivers have swelled above the danger level, flooding large swathes of cropland, homes and low-lying areas in the northern part of Bangladesh.

In Nilphamari alone, around 10,000 families in two upazilas have been stranded, while vast tracts of Aman paddy, vegetables and homesteads are under water, said Amitav Chowdhury, executive engineer of the Dalia Water Development Board (BWDB) in Nilphamari.

The deluge has been fuelled by heavy rainfall and hill torrents from upstream India, which opened all gates of the neighbouring country’s Gojaldoba Barrage, sending a surge through the Teesta, he added.

According to the BWDB in Dalia, the Teesta was flowing at 52.30 metres at 9:00am on Thursday 15 centimetres above the danger mark of 52.15 metres – up from 11 centimetres above danger level just three hours earlier.

On Wednesday the river was 7 centimetres above danger level.

Zahangir Alam, union parishad chairman of Khagakharibari, said 80 families from a shoal attached to Pagolpara had moved to safer ground in the past 24 hours, with more preparing to leave as water swept through their homes.

They are in urgent need of drinking water and food, he added.

Hafizur Rahman, acting chairman of Purbo Satnai Union, reported that 1,500 families in his union had been affected.

In Lalmonirhat and Kurigram districts, the Teesta and Dudhkumar rivers are also flowing above danger level, flooding extensive char (riverine island) and riverside areas.

More than 100,000 people have been stranded in the Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Rangpur regions, according to the Lalmonirhat District Relief and Rehabilitation Office.

Many residents have sought refuge on embankments and government roads, bringing cattle and belongings, and sheltering under makeshift polythene tents.

At the Teesta Barrage point in Hatibandha, Lalmonirhat, water was recorded at 52.30 metres, the same as in Nilphamari while at Pateshwari in Nageshwari, Kurigram, the Dudhkumar stood at 29.66 metres, 6 centimetres above the danger level.

Shunil Kumar, executive engineer of Lalmonirhat BWDB, said chars and riverside areas of the Teesta shoal were inundated and water levels were unlikely to fall soon.

“All gates of the Teesta Barrage have been opened, so downstream water is also rising,” he said.

The Teesta’s above-danger-level flows have inundated 33 unions in 13 upazilas along its shoals in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Nilphamari, and eight unions along the Dudhkumar shoal in Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram, affecting some 220 chars and riverbank villages.

Rakibul Hasan, executive engineer of Kurigram BWDB, warned that the Brahmaputra and Dharla rivers currently below danger level could cross it within 48 hours if upstream flows continued.

“If the Brahmaputra floods, the situation will turn severe,” he said.

Large areas of Aman paddy and vegetables along the Teesta and Dudhkumar floodplains are submerged.

Abdullah Al Mamun, deputy director of DAE said that if water did not recede within three days, vegetables would face major losses, though Aman paddy was likely to suffer less damage.

Villagers described the sudden inundation as devastating.

Sirajul Islam, a farmer from Kalmati in Lalmonirhat Sadar, said, “There’s waist-deep water inside my home. I’ve taken my cattle to the roadside. Since last night, we’ve been in a polythene-covered hut. We’re struggling with food shortages as we can’t cook.”

In Char Narayanpur, Nageshwari, farmer Delwar Sheikh said floodwater entered his home in the early morning.

“We rushed to the shelter in panic. One goat and several chickens were swept away. We’ve been surviving on dry food,” he said.

Local authorities are distributing relief, with boats ferrying people from high-risk areas.

Aminul Islam, chairman of Narayanpur Union Parishad, said over 8,000 people in his union were stranded, while Masiuar Rahman, chairman of Dawabari Union in Hatibandha, estimated more than 10,000 people in his union were stranded.

HM Rakib Hayder, deputy commissioner (DC) of Lalmonirhat, said adequate relief stock was available and distribution was ongoing, while Kurigram DC Nusrat Sultana said control rooms had been opened in flood-hit areas and evacuations were under way.

BWDB officials said all gates of the Teesta Barrage were open to discharge water quickly and that the situation remained under control for now, though further