The Indian envoy to Bangladesh Pranay Verma has expressed concern over the safety of the embassy and other establishments in Bangladesh during his recent meeting with Interim government chief Muhammad Yunus.
Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser of the interim government, informed reporters about the development at a press briefing at the foreign service academy, reported The Daily Star newspaper of Bangladesh.
Shafiqul said the government has already beefed up security for the entire diplomatic zone.
Bangladesh and anti-India sentiment over recent flood crisis
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is a part of the interim government that was formed following the ouster of late PM Sheikh Hasina earlier this month, has accused India of the recent flood which has disrupted normal life in the protest-hit nation and even led to the death of six people.
In a statement, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged India has deliberately opened the gates of Dumbur Dam on the Gomti River in Tripura, causing the flood in Bangladeshs eastern districts, as it is indifferent to the people of Bangladesh and their safety, reported Dhaka Tribune.
Anti-India sentiment is on the rise in Bangladesh in recent times following the toppling of Hasinas regime.
Amid worsening flood situation due to incessant rainfall, Bangladesh reported 18 deaths so far.
Several netizens have even blamed India for the flood situation in Bangladesh.
Indian government rejects Bangladeshs claims
The Indian government, however, rejected the claims and called them factually incorrect.
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, read the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
We would like to point 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 statement said.
The flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to waters from these large catchments downstream of the dam, MEA said.
India said 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, MEA said.
MEA said: As two countries sharing 54 common cross-border rivers, river water cooperation is an important part of our bilateral engagement. We remain committed to resolving issues and mutual concerns in water resources and river water management through bilateral consultations and technical discussions.
