Teesta flowing above danger level

  • 21/06/2008

  • New Age (Bangladesh)

While all other rivers were flowing below their danger level, only the Teesta in the north was flowing 37cm above red mark Saturday morning. But the river swelled by onrush of water from upstream may calm down from Saturday afternoon, said an official of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre. The Teesta fed by rushing water from the upstream after the barrage at Gazaldoba, opened across the border, has flooded some low-lying areas, since Friday night. The situation was likely to get normal from Saturday afternoon, he pointed out. About other rivers, he said, the Brahmaputra and Jamuna, marking some rise by 1.25 metre on average might start declining after slight rise in next two days. The river, however, was flowing three metres below danger level, the official added. The FFWC river position report said Saturday among its 73 water-level monitoring stations, 57 have risen, 14 have fallen, one remained steady and one not reported. Most of the rivers in the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins have marked rise while the rivers in the Meghna and south-eastern hill basins have observed both rise and fall. The Brahmaputra and Jamuna marked rise by one cm at Noonkhawa, where it enters Bangladesh, 3cm at Bahadurabad, 8cm at Sirajganj, 10cm at Aricha while recording fall by 3cm at Chilmari. The Padma observed fall by 45cm at Pankha, 15cm in Rajshahi, 5cm at Hardinge Bridge, 13cm at Goalundo and 16cm at Bhagyakul. The Meghna recorded rise by 9cm at Bhairab Bazar, the FFWC said in its river position report.