Dear Yunus Government, Floods In Bangladesh Aren't Due To Tripura Dam

The northeastern state of Tripura is currently facing one of its worst floods, which has already claimed 22 lives, with more than 65,000 people taking shelter in refugee camps. This situation arose due to unprecedented rainfall in the state. However, while Tripura is battling these floods, a section of the Bangladeshi population on social media is holding India responsible for "releasing water" from the Dumbur Dam in Tripura and "causing artificial floods" in their country. Nahid Islam, an advisor in information and broadcasting in Bangladesh's new interim government, also contributed to spreading the false claim.

The truth is that no water is manually released from the Dumbur Dam, a hydropower project built on the Gomati. Due to incessant rains, the water level rose beyond the dam's capacity, resulting in an automatic release of water this week. Both Centre and Tripura's electricity minister, Ratan Lal Nath, have factually corrected the unverified claims coming from the neighbouring country.

The fact is that the catchment areas of the Gomati River, which flows through both India and Bangladesh, witnessed heavy rainfall in recent days, and the floods in Bangladesh are primarily due to this natural occurrence. It appears that such aggressive statements by some student representatives of Bangladesh's newly formed interim government are aimed at wooing their constituencies, as reported by The Hindu.

But, who is responsible for these floods in Tripura as well as in Bangladesh? The answer is climate change. It is causing some regions to experience less rainfall while others see unprecedented amounts, as has happened in Tripura. According to reports, Bagafa in South Tripura received an unprecedented 493.6 mm of rainfall this week, while Sonamura in the same district received 293.4 mm. Amarpur in the Gomati district and Belonia in South Tripura also received more than 300 mm of rainfall this week.

Rainfall above 250 mm is considered very heavy, and as a result of such unprecedented levels, rivers in Tripura — such as the Gomati, Manu, Mahuri, Haora, and Khowai — have swelled. It is high time for countries, including India and Bangladesh, to take climate change seriously. Particularly for Bangladesh, it would be more constructive if the student leaders of the newly formed interim government focused their agenda on combating climate change, which is causing these floods, rather than indulging in baseless India-bashing for narrow political interests.

Centre Responds To Tripura Flood, But Mainstream Discussions Give It A Miss

At a time when the northeastern state of Tripura is battling floods, it is commendable that the Centre has extended its helping hand. This week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with state Chief Minister Manik Saha to assess the situation.

Later, in a post on X on Friday, Shah informed that the Centre had sent 11 teams of the National Disaster Response Force, 3 Army columns, and 4 Air Force helicopters to assist the state government in relief and rescue operations. He also announced that the Centre has approved the release of Rs 40 crore for the flood-hit state.

The Centre's timely response to the Tripura floods is a welcome step. However, once again, the Tripura floods have not received the attention they deserve in mainstream discussions. It is disheartening that when the northeastern state is facing one of its worst floods, the mainstream discourse remains largely uninterested in addressing the issue. This once again highlights that for mainstream discussions, Tripura and the Northeast seem distant, although the Centre’s commendable response shows its commitment to bridging this gap.

Rajya Sabha Tickets To Old Guards Is BJP's Positive Message To Assam Cadres

This week, the central leadership of the BJP selected two loyalists — former Union Minister Rameshwar Teli and ex-MLA Mission Ranjan Das — for the Rajya Sabha bypolls in the northeastern state of Assam. The two seats in the upper house became vacant after former Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Kamakhya Tasha resigned, following their election to the Lok Sabha. Both candidates have filed their nominations and are expected to win, as the Opposition has opted to stay away from the contest, given the ruling BJP-led NDA coalition a majority.

Both Teli and Das are long-time party loyalists. Teli belongs to the influential tea-tribe community, while Das is a popular Hindu Bengali leader from the Barak Valley. The selection of these loyalists comes at a time when there have been allegations that new party leaders, who joined from Congress, are sidelining the party’s old guards. Veteran leader and former Union Minister Rajen Gohain is one of those old guards reportedly unhappy with the dominance of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a former Congress leader, within the party structure.

This writer, through this column back in May, had suggested that the central leadership should address the concerns of the old guards after the Lok Sabha elections. It seems that the central leadership, through this selection of candidates, has attempted to send a positive message to the old guards—that they remain important to the saffron party.

Moreover, by selecting Das, the party also sought to woo the Barak Valley populace. The party’s success in Assam began in this region, which has a significant Hindu Bengali population. This is the first time the saffron party has sent a leader from this region to the Upper House.

No Joy For Tripura's Pratima Bhoumik... Yet Again

Former Union Minister of State Pratima Bhoumik has again been ignored by the BJP's central leadership for the Rajya Sabha bypoll in Tripura. The lone Rajya Sabha seat became vacant after former Chief Minister Biplab Deb resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha. Interestingly, Biplab replaced Pratima as the party’s candidate for the Tripura West Lok Sabha constituency, leading to speculation that Pratima might be rehabilitated through Biplab’s vacant seat.

However, the central leadership quashed these speculations and instead nominated the party's state president Rajib Bhattacharjee, who lost Banamalipur in last year’s state assembly polls. Since the party denied her candidature in the Lok Sabha polls, Pratima has been largely inactive in state politics, confining herself mostly to the Sonamura subdivision of the Sepahijala district. Her Dhanpur assembly seat, where she was elected last year, falls under the Sonamura subdivision. It is worth noting that Pratima is one of the rivals of the current Chief Minister Manik Saha. Last year, she tried to convince the central leadership to appoint her as Chief Minister after the saffron party came to power for the second time.

The author is a political commentator.

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