Swelling Teesta floods vast areas in Nilphamari

Vast croplands and many homesteads in low lying areas of 15 river basin villages in two upazilas of Nilphamari have been flooded due to sudden rise of water level in the Teesta river.

The swelling Teesta took a devastating turn on Sunday night.

As a result, water level crossed the danger mark at Dalia point on Monday morning and was flowing 10 centimetres above the danger level, flooding many shoal areas in Dimla and Jaldhaka upazilas.

Locals said due to the sudden rise in the water level in the Teesta around 15 thousand people of different villages under the two upazila have been marooned and passing miserable time.

The situation got worsened due to nonstop rainfall in the last 24 hours and onrush of water from the upstream.

Tepa Kharibari Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Moynul Islam said about 3,000 inhabitants of Paglir Bazar, Tapur Char, Ekotar Bazar, Char Kharibari, Char Purbo Kharibari and Char Dakkhin  Kharibari villages under his union are the most affected.

People of those villages have been passing days under waist deep water and facing acute food and water crisis, the UP chairman said.

Alamgir Kabir, 28, of Dakkhin Kharibari village, said they were passing days in panic as water from upstream kept entering fresh areas and the river might continue swelling further.

Dimla Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Joyashree Rani Roy said they were monitoring the situation closely and also asked the UP chairmen's' of the affected unions to make list of the affected people so that they can get relief materials in time.

Away in Rangpur, many homesteads and huge croplands in the river basin Saudpara village in Rangpur's Ganghachara upazila are facing erosion threat since the block-pitching on the right side of the Teesta river protection dyke washed away on Friday night.

Due to the collapse, the water level in the Teesta river also sees a sudden rise as water from the upstream entering the area through broken portion of the dyke.

Hafizul Islam of Saudpara village said due to high current in the Teesta around 50-meter portion of the dyke at Saudpara village washed away on Friday night.

Soudpara Islamia Bohumukhi Alim Madrasa and a local post office building and several hundred houses are on the verge of collapse due to the fresh flood, locals said, adding that Water Development Board (WDB) already started dumping Geo-bags in the damaged part on the dyke.

Moreover, high currents washed away around 50-metre of another protection dam at Binbina Char in the upazila, flooding two villages including Binbina and Tushbandar, Hafizul said.