As the Teesta River shrinks during the dry season, farmers across northern Bangladesh face worsening irrigation shortages, exposing delays in river management projects and long-standing tensions over transboundary water sharing.
On the International Day of Action for Rivers, concern is growing across northern Bangladesh as the Teesta River continues to shrink during the dry season, leaving farmers struggling to irrigate their land and highlighting delays in major river management projects.
Northern Bangladesh is facing a growing water crisis as the Teesta River steadily loses flow during the dry months. The river, one of the most important transboundary rivers between India and Bangladesh, supports the livelihoods of millions of farmers in the country’s northern districts. But during the dry season large sections of the river are reduced to shallow streams and wide sandbanks where water once flowed.
For many farmers, the change is already affecting daily life and agricultural production.
“We depend on the Teesta for irrigation but now there is almost no water,” said farmer Ayub Ali from the Rangpur region. “Earlier we needed boats to cross the river. Now we walk through knee-deep water or even dry sand.”
In several areas residents now cross the riverbed on foot to reach farmland that has emerged on sandbanks during the dry season. Many farmers have turned to cultivating crops on these newly formed char lands but they say the lack of reliable water makes farming increasingly uncertain.
The Teesta Irrigation Project, designed to support agriculture across northern Bangladesh, is currently unable to supply water to even one third of the targeted farmland.
Water experts say that around 20,000 cusecs of water are needed at the Teesta Barrage to maintain both irrigation and the river’s ecological flow. However, during the dry season the river receives only a small fraction of that amount.
With limited water available authorities divert most of the supply into irrigation canals to protect crops. As a result downstream sections of the river often receive little or no water.
At the Teesta Barrage the 44 water control gates are frequently kept closed to retain water for irrigation. This has left parts of the downstream riverbed dry, creating large sandbanks where boats once operated.
Officials from the Bangladesh Water Development Board say the irrigation system itself is still under development which also affects water distribution. Several secondary and tertiary canals are still being constructed, preventing irrigation water from reaching many agricultural areas across the project zone.
The government launched the Rehabilitation and Expansion of the Teesta Irrigation Project Command Area in 2022 after approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.
The project, with an estimated cost of about Tk 1,452 crore, aims to construct nearly 750 kilometres of secondary and tertiary irrigation canals to bring water to about 116,000 hectares of farmland in northern Bangladesh. Authorities expect the project to eventually increase national food production by nearly one million metric tons annually.
However the project has faced significant delays. It was originally scheduled to be completed by June 2024 but has now been extended to December 2026.
Officials say around 65 percent of the work has been completed so far while reports suggest that some contractors left the project before finishing their assigned tasks. These delays have raised concerns about whether the project will meet its revised deadline.
While irrigation infrastructure is still under construction the broader Teesta River Master Plan aimed at restoring the river has also remained stalled.
The proposed plan includes dredging more than 100 kilometres of the river, constructing embankments along both banks, reclaiming agricultural land from sand deposits and developing economic infrastructure along the river corridor.
Bangladesh has sought financial support to implement the project with the Economic Relations Division exploring international financing options.
The first phase of the project is estimated to cost around 750 million US dollars and Bangladesh has sought approximately 550 million dollars in loans from China. However discussions have progressed slowly as technical and financial reviews continue.
The Teesta issue also carries significant political and diplomatic implications.
Bangladesh has long sought a water sharing agreement with India because most of the river’s upstream flow is controlled by the Gazoldoba Barrage, constructed in 1987. Researchers and officials say upstream diversion has significantly reduced dry season water flow into Bangladesh.
At the same time discussions about implementing the Teesta master plan have involved both India and China, making the project politically sensitive. Previous governments explored cooperation with India on river management while more recent proposals have focused on Chinese financing. Analysts say the competing geopolitical interests have complicated decision making and slowed progress.
For farmers living along the riverbanks the crisis is less about geopolitics and more about survival.
In districts such as Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Kurigram agriculture depends heavily on irrigation from the Teesta River.
“We cannot plan our crops anymore,” said farmer Abdul Karim from Rangpur’s Gangachara area. “Sometimes the river becomes almost dry in winter and then during the monsoon sudden floods wash away our land.”
Environmental advocates say the situation highlights the need for stronger regional cooperation on shared rivers.
“This crisis shows why water justice and fair sharing of transboundary rivers are essential,” said Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global. “Millions of people depend on the Teesta basin for their livelihoods. Bangladesh and India must strengthen transboundary river basin management cooperation, ensure equitable water sharing and protect the ecological flow of rivers so that communities and ecosystems on both sides of the border can survive.”
River researchers warn that without comprehensive river management and fair water distribution the situation could worsen in the coming years.
“For generations people along the Teesta have experienced floods, erosion and now water scarcity,” said river researcher Tuhin Wadud. “Restoring the river and ensuring equitable water sharing must become a national priority.”
Without long term solutions and stronger regional cooperation experts warn that the Teesta could continue shrinking, threatening the livelihoods, agriculture and ecological stability of millions of people in northern Bangladesh.
