India’s northeastern state of Tripura is experiencing its worst floods in more than three decades, the government said. A state minister told BBC Bengal that the rainfall in August was 151% more than normal.
At least 12 people have died so far and two are missing, the state administration said. Seven of them died in the last 24 hours.
The state government said on Thursday evening that about 1.7 lakh people are trapped in water there.
It has been raining almost non-stop for the past four days.
Only Gomti district, where Dombur reservoir under Gomti hydropower station is located, is expected to receive normal rainfall of 196.5 mm in August. However, there has been 656.6 millimeters of rain, which is 234% more. State Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath gave this information to BBC Bangla.
Vast areas, including the capital Agartala, are still under water. Almost all rivers of the state, including Howrah, Khoai, Muhuri and Dhlai, flow over the boundary.
The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert in three districts of the state and an orange alert in the rest.
Dambur dam what happened?
Gomti is among the districts that have been most affected by this flood. As a result of the opening of the Dambur sluice gate of the Gomti hydroelectric power plant in Gomti district, there has been extensive flooding in a large area of Bangladesh, according to various media reports in Bangladesh.
The hydropower project is under the power department of the state.
Department Minister Ratan Lal Nath said, ‘The propaganda that is being done about opening the Dambur gate is nothing but misinformation.’
He said that no gate of Gomti hydropower station has been opened. The maximum storage capacity of this power plant reservoir is 94 meters. When the water level rises above this, the water will automatically exit through the gate. The gate will automatically close when the water level drops again. As the water level exceeds the maximum holding capacity, the water is released through the two gates of the reservoir. Water is coming out at the rate of 50% through one of the gates. The people of the concerned area were also requested to be alert by miking in advance.
He also said that there was no such flood in Tripura in the last three decades.
According to him, on 21st August 1993 Sabrum in Tripura had a record rainfall of 247 mm in a single day. And this year on August 20, 375.8 mm of rain fell in one day. Exactly 31 years after this much rain in one day. If we look at the calculation of the whole month, the normal rainfall was supposed to be 214 mm on the 21st day of August. There has been 538 rains. 7 mm, i.e. 151% more.
The minister was saying that due to natural high rainfall, such a big flood was seen after more than three decades.
Rescue helicopter
Chief Minister Manik Saha told reporters in Agartala on Thursday that the entire state administration has gone to work for rescue work and distribution of relief.
The state’s relief, rehabilitation and disaster management department said on Thursday evening that 450 shelter camps have been opened, sheltering more than 65,000 people
Chief Minister said that two helicopters are being brought for rescue work. The National Disaster Response Force also sent additional teams on Thursday morning. Armed forces like State Disaster Response Force, Assam Rifles, Tripura State Rifles are also working at the same time.
The Indian Meteorological Department has warned that there is a possibility of heavy to very heavy rain in the state on Thursday and Friday as well, with thundershowers at some places.
The department said in a statement that a low pressure over northern Bangladesh is likely to cause heavy rainfall in some parts of Tripura and Mizoram on Thursday and flash floods are also likely in several states of northeast India.
Teesta-Farakka
The water level in the Teesta River coming down from Sikkim is also dangerous, it is reported in various media of Bangladesh. However, Raj Basu, a river expert in the northern part of West Bengal and associated with environmental conservation in the region, says that a major landslide occurred in Sikkim two days ago, but the river basin is not receiving heavy rains.
In his words, ‘Some days it rains, some days the sun rises. As a result, the possibility of landslides has increased. But so far no danger signal has been shown in the river basin or Ghazaldoba barrage.’
Sources of the state government’s irrigation department said that the water level in these two dams above the Teesta, Ghazaldoba and Kalijhora, is normal.
At 12 noon on Thursday, 1,045.92 cumec water was released through Ghazaldoba and 1,027 cumec water was released from Kalijhora dam at the same time, sources in the barrage authority said.
But Raj Bose was saying that the Teesta problem is very long-term.
‘The massive amount of stones, soil, destroyed houses and other structures that came down the Teesta due to the glacial lake outburst flood in October last year, have accumulated in the river bed. As a result, the depth of the river bed has decreased. If there is a little more rain, the banks of the river are overflowing. But right now that is not the case. This problem will not be solved in one day, long-term planning should be done. I do not see any such initiative either by the central government, nor by the two state governments – Sikkim and West Bengal,’ said Raj Bose.
On the other hand, some gates have been opened in the Farakka barrage as the water level of the river has increased slightly since Wednesday, the sources of the barrage said. But the Farakka Barrage authorities could not be contacted about how much the water level has risen or how many gates have been opened.