The Centre has dismissed allegations that the latest floods in Bangladesh were caused by onrush of water from upstream after India opened the gates of a dam on Gumti River in Tripura.
At least three lakh people impacted by floods in the neighbouring country, with parts of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Comilla getting submerged under water. Residents of Moulvibazar district was the worst affected as water level of four rivers -- Manu, Juri, Dhalai and Kushiara -- were above the danger level. Other affected districts include Sunamganj, Habiganj, Feni, Chittagong, Noakhali and Khagrachari
Besides 34,000 people have been displaced in Tripura due the floods caused by heavy rainfall since August 21.
The Ministry of External Affairs Ministry said the catchment areas of Gumti River passing through India and Bangladesh witnessed heaviest rains over the last few days. However, it clarified that the floods in the neighbouring country were mainly due to waters from downstream catchments areas.
It pointed out that the dam is located more that 120 km away from the Bangladesh border and that the low-height Dumbur dam is only 30 metre high. Bangladesh also draws 40MW power from Tripura, the ministry added.
Bangladesh also alleged that the Tripura government has not given an official notification regarding opening the dam and the data showing rising level of water was sent to Bangladesh till 3 pm on Wednesday. But the ministry said due to flooding, there was power outage leading to problems of communication and at 6 pm, the government tried to maintain communication through other means created tor urgent transmission of data.
"Floods on the common rivers between India and Bangladesh are a shared problem inflicting sufferings to people on both sides, and requires close mutual cooperation towards resolving them," the ministry stated, pointing out that the two countries share 54 common cross-border rivers.
"River water cooperation is an important part of our bilateral engagement. We remain committed to resolving issues and mutual concerns in water resources and river water management through bilateral consultations and technical discussions," it added.