CA proposes high-level coordination body on flood emergencies

Interim government Chief Adviser Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus has said Bangladesh is looking for more cooperation on shared rivers and waters with India, as a cataclysmic flood hit the country's southeast.
He also sought to have a coordination committee comprising high officials from both countries to tackle such flooding emergencies.
He put forward the views during a meeting of Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma with him on Thursday discussing the ongoing flood situation and related actions.
The envoy made his maiden courtesy call on the head of interim government of Bangladesh after it took charge following the fall of the past government of Sheikh Hasina.
The meeting took place at the State Guesthouse Jamuna after 4:00pm, as confirmed by the chief adviser's press wing.
Following the meet, the Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, Shafiqul Alam, in a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy said the Indian diplomat informed the CA that the water release from Tripura dam was automatic due to high pressure of water.
The envoy said flooding is unprecedented in Tripura where nearly 50,000 people were displaced.
"It has created havoc on both sides," Mr Verma was quoted as saying.
The Indian envoy also expressed concern over its embassy security and social- media posts regarding flood situation.
Dr Muhammad Yunus expressed his "interest to have high-level meeting with people from both sides during such crisis as the ongoing state of floods as both countries share same water, catchment area and delta", said the press secretary.
Shafiqul Alam said such meeting would be like flag meeting of border-security forces of the two neighbouring countries.
The Chief Adviser expressed his willingness to work together on shared rivers and their waters.
The Press Secretary said Dr Yunus is monitoring flood updates, relief and rescue activities constantly.
The office of the CA said two people had died so far in the ongoing flood onslaughts.
Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said the envoy of India expressed its willingness to work with Bangladesh.
"We strongly believe in a strong and a prosperous Bangladesh," Mr Verma said, as quoted by the press secretary.
The envoy said they were seeking "more positive engagements" with the interim government.
"We are really looking forward to working together," he said.
Earlier in the afternoon, during a press briefing in front of Jamuna, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser for Environment, Forests, Climate Change, and Water, mentioned that the discussion would focus on whether Bangladesh received advance warnings about the flood and what steps both countries can take to manage such situations in the future.
Meanwhile, during the same briefing, the interim government's Information Adviser, Nahid Islam, noted that the flood situation in Bangladesh has been exacerbated by upstream water flowing into the country.
He said India demonstrated "a lack of humanitarianism and cooperation towards Bangladesh by opening dams without prior notice".
He stated that people of Bangladesh are angry due to India's policy and demanded fair share of water as a lower-riparian country.
"The dam was opened without any prior warning and without giving us any scope for preparation," he told reporters, amid the exigencies.
Nahid urged the neighbouring country to come out of what he called "anti-people policy" to protect people in both countries.
He stated that people of Bangladesh demanded fair share of water.
The adviser of the interim government-fresh from the forefront of the student-mass uprising--said the government is also in discussion with the chiefs of three services - army, navy and air force - for effectively dealing with the flood situation.
UNB adds: Noting expressed concern in Bangladesh regarding flood situation, India has explained the reasons behind flood and said what was said in Bangladesh was earlier not factually correct.
"We have seen concerns being expressed in Bangladesh that the current situation of flood in districts on the eastern borders of Bangladesh has been caused by opening of the Dumbur dam upstream of the Gumti River in Tripura. This is factually not correct," said the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday.
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, said the Indian side.
India pointed out that the catchment areas of Gumti river that flows through India and Bangladesh have witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days.
"The flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to waters from these large catchments downstream of the dam," MEA said in a statement on flood situation.
As two countries sharing 54 common cross-border rivers, river water cooperation is an important part of bilateral engagement, India said.
"We remain committed to resolving issues and mutual concerns in water resources and river water management through bilateral consultations and technical discussions," according to MEA.
The Dumbur dam is located quite far from the border - over 120 Km upstream of Bangladesh. It is a low height (about 30m) dam that generates power that feeds into a grid and from which Bangladesh also draws 40MW power from Tripura.

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