Teesta river. Photo: BSS

GAIBANDHA, Jan 22, 2025 (BSS) - Teesta, the fourth-largest river in Bangladesh, is drying up quickly due to a drastic fall of its water level during the current dry season, creating negative impacts on agriculture, communication, employment and the environment.
 
Currently, the river has literally turned into a narrow channel (waterway) for silt coming from the upstream of the river and not having water flow in it.
 
Sources at the Bangladesh Water Development Board said the water level of the river started decreasing sharply in September last year. Later, almost all the parts of the river dried up alarmingly, creating a large amount of sandy chars on the riverbed.

Vast areas of the riverbed are turning into deserts, causing immense suffering for the neighboring people. 
 
"Now, anyone can cross the river on foot easily, but a few years back it was just unimaginative," said Madhu Miah, an inhabitant of Horipur union under Sundarganj upazila.

People living on the bank of the river Teesta said they had seen an abnormal fall in the water level of the river in the last few months, but they could not think that the river would dry up so fast.

 The abnormal fall in the water level of the river has been attributed to the unilateral withdrawal of water by India through a barrage upstream of Teesta Irrigation project at Dalia in Lalmonirhat district, they alleged.
 Char people have to walk miles while going to the mainland for necessary work as plying of vessels has been suspended on all the routes of the river for lack of water. 

People living at Tarapur, Horipur, Belka, Chandpur, and Kapasia under Sundarganj upazila are immensely suffering. 

"Over 200 boatmen of Kurigram and Gaibandha districts remain jobless as they are unable to ply their vessel," said M Mazharul Islam, chairman of Horipur union parishad. 
 
 A good number of fishermen living on the river basins had also become unemployed as they cannot catch fish, said Horikanta Das, a fisherman of Belka union.
 
"So, many fishermen get involved in other professions, and they become rickshaw and van puller, auto rickshaw driver, conductor of buses and trucks and farm day labour to earn livelihoods, leaving their forefather's profession," he said.
 
"A vast tract of land remains uncultivated for want of water", said Rashedul Kabir, upazila agriculture officer.
 
Thousands of people living in char areas and the river bank have become jobless as they have no work due to drying up of the river, said former lawmaker of Gaibandha Waheduzzaman Sarker Badsha. 
 
Finding no way, the jobless is going to the capital city of Dhaka, Chittagong and other parts of the country in search of work, taking loans with high interest from the local moneylenders, he added.
 
However, the people urged the government to take necessary measures to maintain the navigability and water flow in the river all the year round by implementing a water-sharing treaty with India as early as possible.