With very little water in the Teesta, a vast area is without irrigation and fast turning into a dry land resembling a desert. At least 57,000 hectares went without irrigation water during the year that has just gone by, as there was no water at the Teesta Barrage, the barrage authorities said.
According to sources, the authorities concerned had set a target to irrigate 65,000 hectares in 2014, using barrage waters in Dinajpur, Rangpur and Nilphamari districts. But only 18,000 hectares could be irrigated in 2014, 10,000 hectares in 2015 and only 8,000 hectares in 2016, the sources said.
There were only 700 cusecs of water at the Teesta Barrage point in the second week of January, the barrage authorities said. The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has expressed concern over non-availability of water for the vast areas of the Teesta Barrage project, which would impact food security too.
According to the sources, the Indian authorities are generating 68MW of hydro-electricity and cultivating 5.40 lakh hectares by using Teesta waters in the upstream. Bangladesh received very little water as its share after it was used by the Indian side, the sources said.
As a result, the authorities here were unable to meet the irrigation demand of the farmers during the dry season. The water flow at the Teesta Barrage point was 6,500 cusecs in 1997, which came down to 700 cusecs this January, the sources said.
According to sources, a vast area of Bangladesh was without irrigation water and had turned into a parched, dry land because of unilateral withdrawal of water by India in the upstream during the dry season.
Sadar upazila of Nilpamari, Dimla, Jaldhaka, Kishorganj and Syedpur in Nilphamari district, Rangpur Sadar, Taraganj, Badarganj and Gongachara in Rangpur and Parbatypur, Chirirbandar and Khansama upazilas in Dinajpur district are directly dependent on Teesta waters.
Uncertainty prevails among the people of 5,427 villages alongside the Teesta, as their livelihood depends on the barrage and the river.
“We will manage the waters during distribution among farmers for their irrigation purposes. The irrigated areas can be extended after water is available at the Teesta Barrage point,” Jahangir Kabir, director general of the Bangladesh Water
Development Board (BWDB), told The Independent yesterday (Wednesday).
The flow of the Teesta depends on rain in the upstream, and normally Bangladesh gets less water during the dry season, he said in reply to a query.
“It is definitely a matter of concern. If 57,000 hectares go dry, it will hamper cultivation. We have to increase arable land for food security,”  DAE director general Monzurul Hannan told this correspondent.
The flow of water varies during the dry season, Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) acting member Mofazzal Hossain said. Bangladesh received about 3,000 cusecs of water last December, he added.
“The flow of water falls in January. If there is less rain in the upstream, the water flow normally goes down,” he said in reply to a query. The Teesta Agreement on water sharing is now on the table of the high-ups of the two countries, he added.