The once-mighty river is almost dry at certain points now as India unilaterally withdraws water by closing all the gates of Gajaldoba barrage in the upstream.

Executive Engineer at Dalia Division of Water Development Board (WDB) in Nilphamari, Atiqur Rahman, told this correspondent that the flow of water at Teesta Barrage point is now 2,500 to 3,000 Cusec. The flow was 3,500 to 4,000 Cusec last week.

At least 7,000 to 8,000 Cusec water is necessary to provide irrigation facilities to farmers in the project's command area and maintain navigability, he said.

The flow is falling drastically as India closed all the 52 gates of Gajaldoba barrage, about 100 km upstream in West Bengal, to provide irrigate facilities in the state, he said.

Visiting the Teesta Irrigation project and Teesta Barrage site on Saturday, it was seen that the river in the upstream of the barrage is almost dry. Only some narrow steams were seen in several places.

The dried up river is only 250 meters from the Teesta Bbarrage, where farmers have cultivated crops like paddy, wheat, maize and pulses.

However only in the 'restricted zone' which stretches 200 meters in front area of the barrage, the WDB authorities somehow managed navigability.

For want of irrigational water, farmers in the project area are irrigating lands with diesel-run shallow pumps or by lifting water manually from the lean river channels.

Sources at WDB Zonal Office at Rangpur said, this year they have a target to bring 60,000 hectares under irrigation in the project's command area. Though it is only one-third of the original target of 1,54,250 hectares in Nilphamari and parts of Rangpur and Dinajpur, it is uncertain whether this area can be irrigated in the current season, they said.

Atiqur Rahman said, "We are getting little water from the upstream which seeps through the closed gates of Gajaldoba barrage, situated about 80 meters higher land than the Teesta Barrage level.

He however said his office is in close contact with Indian officials about the situation.

In rainy season, India usually opens all the gates of Gajaldoba barrage to release the excess water, raising its flow up to 3,00,000 Cusec and flooding Bangladesh, sources said.

BWDB sources claimed that at Joint River Commission Meeting in 2005, India suggested Bangladesh to abandon the second phase of Teesta Irrigation Project as a condition for a Teesta water sharing agreement. Indian authorities at other meetings said it would discuss sharing of Teesta water only when survey of other rivers like Dudh Kumar, Monu, Khoyai, Gomti, Muhuri and Feni would be completed, the sources said.

However Bangladesh went ahead with the second phase of the project. The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) at a meeting in July last year allocated Tk 227 crore for implementation of the second phase of Teesta Irrigation Project. The work is in progress.

The second phase will cover an additional 4,48,774 hectares of land in part of Rangpur, Gaibandha, Bogra and Joypurhat districts.

However at a ministerial level meeting between India and Bangladesh, a formula was evolved to share the Teesta water, suggesting that Bangladesh would get 35 per cent of Teesta water and India 39 per cent with the rest 26 per cent to be kept for navigability of the river. But the formula is yet to be implemented as the actual flow of water in the river is still to be ascertained, allegedly due to India's reluctance.