Bangladesh has recently experienced severe flooding, which has led to concerns that the water is coming from the Dambur Dam in Tripura, India.
The Indian government has, however, clarified that the floods were not caused by the release of water from the dam, but by heavy rainfall in large catchment areas of the Gumti river that flows through the two countries.
Gomti River and Dambur Dam and Dambur Lake:
Gomati River:
It is also known as Gomati or Gumti, originates from Tripura and flows through the Comilla district of Bangladesh.
The right bank tributaries of Gomti river include Kanchi Gang, Pitra Gang, San Gang, Mailak Chhara and Surma Chhara, while the left bank tributaries are Ek Chhari, Maharani Chhara and Ganga.
Dambur Dam:
It is built on the Gomati River in Tripura.
It has a height of 30 meters and the electricity from it goes to the grid. Bangladesh takes 40 megawatts (MW) of power from Tripura.
Dambur Lake:
It is located at Gandacherra near Agartala and is close to the Tirthamukh Hydroelectric Project, which is the source of the Gomti / Gumti River.
Created by the confluence of Raima and Sarma rivers, the river is known for its diverse fish species.
The annual ‘Poush Sankranti Mela’ is held on 14th January every year at this lake.
Rivers that flow across the border from India’s neighbouring countries:
India and Bangladesh:
India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, with most of the rivers that flow into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh coming from India.
The main rivers are:
Ganga (Padma in Bangladesh):
This major river enters Bangladesh through the Gangetic plain of northern India.
Its major left tributaries include the Gomti, Ghaghra, Gandak and Kosi.
The major tributaries of the right bank include the Yamuna, Son, Punpun and Damodar.
Ghaghra:
Originating from the Tibetan plateau, the river joins the Ganges near Patna and is famous for its high flow, especially during the monsoon.
Son River:
Flowing through the Kaimur Range, the river travels 487 miles before joining the Ganges at Patna in Bihar.
Bangladesh has only one tributary of the Ganges, the Mahananda, while its other tributaries are the Ichhamati, Nawaganga, Bhairab, Kumar, Goyari Madhumati and Ariyal Khan.
Teesta:
The river originates in the Himalayas and flows through Sikkim and West Bengal to join the Brahmaputra in Assam and the Yamuna in Bangladesh (called Brahmaputra in India).
Bangladesh has been supporting the fair allocation of Teesta River water from India, which is like the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty. However, this request was not accepted.
The 1996 Ganges Water Treaty between India and Bangladesh was aimed at resolving the water flow rights disputes that had emerged after the construction of the Farakka Barrage in 1975 to divert the waters of the Ganges to the Hooghly River to maintain the Calcutta Port.
Feni:
The river flows 135 km south of Agartala, the capital of Tripura. Of its 1,147 sq km catchment area, 535 sq km is in India, while the rest is in Bangladesh.
It forms part of the India-Bangladesh border.
Maitri Setu, a 1.9 -km long bridge over the Feni River, has been built in Tripura to connect India and Bangladesh.
Some of the notable tributaries of Feni River include Muhuri River, Raidak River, Chandkhira River, Reang River and Kushiyara River.
Kushiyara River:
It is a tributary of the Barak River, which originates at the Amalshid dividing point on the India-Bangladesh border, where the Barak splits into the Kushiyara and Surma rivers.
It starts from Assam and includes tributaries from Nagaland and Manipur.
Brahmaputra River:
It originates from Chemayangdung Glacier as Yarlung Tsangpo near Mount Kailash in Tibet, flows through India and Bangladesh and forms a natural boundary between the two countries.
It flows through Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya before entering Bangladesh (called Jamuna).
Its major tributaries include the Subansiri, Kameng, Manas and Dhansiri rivers in India and the Teesta River in Bangladesh.
The Brahmaputra River meets the Ganges River in Bangladesh and forms the Padma River, which then joins the Meghna River and empties into the Bay of Bengal through the Meghna Estuary.
Meghna:
The Barak River in India divides into 2 streams, Surma and Kushiyara, in the Karimganj district of Assam. Soorma and Kushiyara are reunited in Kishoreganj district of Bangladesh and are known as Meghna.
In Bangladesh, it is known as Upper Meghna till Chandpur and after meeting Padma at Chandpur, it is known as Lower Meghna.
The Jamuna (called the Brahmaputra in India):
Jamuna is a tributary of the Brahmaputra, which separates from the mainstream at the point where the Brahmaputra meets the Teesta in Bangladesh and flows under the name Jamuna until the Gwalundo Ghat in Bangladesh, where it meets the Padma River (called the Ganges in India).
India-China:
The transboundary rivers flowing from China to India fall into two main groups.
The Brahmaputra River System:
The Brahmaputra River system on the eastern side, including the Siang River (the mainstream of the Brahmaputra River) and its tributaries, namely the Subansiri and the Lohit, with the Brahmaputra River called the Yaluzangbu or Tsangpo in China.
Indus River System:
The Indus River system on the western side, comprising the Indus River and the Sutlej River.
India and China have signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) under which China will provide hydrological information to India about these two rivers.
India-Pakistan.
Indus River:
The Indus is a transboundary river in India, which originates in western Tibet, flows northwest through Kashmir and then southwest through Pakistan before finally joining the Arabian Sea near Karachi.
The waters of the Indus River and other rivers flowing west from India have been a contentious issue between India and Pakistan since independence.
Sutlej:
It is a major tributary of the Indus River, which originates from Rakshas Lake in Tibet.
The river runs parallel to the Indus River for about 400 km, enters India through the Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh and continues through Punjab.
There, it meets the Beas River, which forms part of the India-Pakistan border before joining the Chenab River.
The combined flow forms the Panjnad River, which joins the Indus River.
Chenab:
It is a major tributary of the Indus River, originating from the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga streams at Tandi in Himachal Pradesh.
The river, known as Chandrabhaga in its upper reaches, flows westward through Jammu and Kashmir and then enters Pakistan in the southwest.
The river falls in the lower alluvial region of Punjab province and meets the Jhelum River near Trimoo before joining the Sutlej River.
Jhelum:
Originating from the Verinag Falls in the Kashmir Valley, the river flows through Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
The river flows through Srinagar and Wular Lake, enters Pakistan through a valley near Gilgit and joins the Chenab River near Jhang.
Beas:
River Beas originates from Beas Kund near Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh.
It flows through the Kullu Valley and joins the Sutlej River at Harike in Punjab.
Ravi:
Ravi River originates from Bada Bhangal in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The river flows through Bada Bansu, Treta, Chanota and Ulhansa and covers 158 km before entering the state of Punjab.
Its famous tributaries are Budhil, Siul, Baljeri, Chhatrari and Baira.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, control of the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej rivers has been allocated to India and that of the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers to Pakistan.
Indo-Nepal:
Kosi and Gandak are the major rivers flowing from Nepal to India. Other important rivers include Rapti, Narayani and Kali.
These rivers, which enter India from Nepal, originate mainly from the Tibetan plateau and the Himalayan ranges.
Kosi:
The Kosi River is an international river flowing through China, Nepal and India, and is a major tributary of the Ganges.
From the confluence of Sun Kosi, Arun Kosi and Tamur Kosi in the Himalayas, the river flows through Nepal and Bihar to join the Ganges in Bihar.
Kosi is known for its ever-changing stream and floods, due to which it has been nicknamed the “Sorrow of Bihar.”
Gandak:
Also known as Gandaki or Narayani River, it flows through northern India and Nepal.
It originates in Tibet at an altitude of 7,620 m near the Nepal border.
It flows through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh before joining the Ganges near Patna.
Its major tributaries include Mayangadi, Bari, Trishuli, Panchanda, Sarhad and Burhi Gandak.
Sharda / Kali / Mahakali River:
It originates from Kalapani in Uttarakhand. It flows along the western border of Nepal and India.
After joining the Ghaghra River and passing through the hills as the Kali River, it enters the Terai regions where it is known as the Sharda River.
The Pancheshwar Dam, an India-Nepal joint project for irrigation and hydroelectricity / hydroelectricity, is located on this river.
India and Nepal have traditionally disagreed on the interpretation of the Sugauli Treaty, 1816, which demarcated the boundary along the Mahakali River in Nepal.
