No joint river management, unpreparedness blamed for worst Sylhet floods

The declining width and navigability of rivers, lack of bypass channels to drain upstream water, and lack of prior planning to deal with climate change are the main reasons behind the catastrophic floods in Sylhet region, said the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa).

At a press conference at Dhaka Reporters' Unity, the environmental watchdog also mentioned inefficiency and irregularities in river management as a prime reason behind the flood.

Speakers at the event said there is a lack of India-Bangladesh joint river management plan in the Meghna Basin which is an obstacle.

Moreover, the authorities are constructing infrastructures by destroying haors and rivers in the name of development.

Presenting the keynote address at the event, Md Khalequzzaman, professor at the University of Lock Haven, USA, broke down the reasons for the flood into three categories – global, transnational and domestic.

"Scientists predicted a long time ago that global warming would increase rainfall and flooding in our region during the monsoons. As a result of climate change, sea levels are rising and the flow of the ocean-going rivers have slowed down. The rivers are not able to drain water as efficiently as before. Due to the slow flow of the river, floods are prolonging in the haor area," he said.

"The transnational factor is that India unilaterally controls the water flow of every river in the Meghna Basin. Deforestation and extraction of coal and other minerals upstream create a lot of silt. India covers 56% of the Meghna Basin. There are 16 cross-border rivers flowing in the basin, but there is no agreement for joint management of water for any of those.

"Out of the 16 rivers listed by the Joint Rivers Commission, there are about 30 other small cross-border rivers and canals. During the dry season, India retains water from the river for irrigation and hydropower generation. On the other hand, they open the gates of dams and reservoirs during the monsoon and help increase the intensity of floods in the downstream haor areas," the eminent professor added.

Khalequzzaman further said, "The third reason is that 43% of the Meghna Basin is inside Bangladesh. But over the last seven decades, the country's rivers, reservoirs and haors have been severely damaged by the implementation of the wrong water policy.

The flow of water has been hampered by the construction of dams, polders, and various physical infrastructures along the river banks."

Sharif Jamil, general secretary of Bapa, said, "Around 4,100 mm of rainfall has been recorded in Cherrapunji in the last 20 days.

Around eight billion cubic metres of this water will flow under the Bhairab Bridge, which is not possible as the path is very narrow.

"Unplanned urbanisation, sand extraction etc have diminished the water flow of rivers. These problems have to be solved soon, otherwise more natural disasters will happen in the future because of these man-made causes," he added.