Due to India’s unilateral withdrawal of upstream water, rivers flowing through Kurigram—including the Dharla, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Dudhkumar, and 16 other rivers—are facing a severe navigability crisis. Over 200 canals and wetlands have dried up, severely impacting livelihoods and biodiversity. Despite this prolonged crisis, authorities have taken no substantial action to preserve water flow in these rivers.

The riverbeds have turned arid, with barely any flowing water left—only patches of sand and isolated stagnant pools. In many places, the dried-up riverbeds are now being used for farming. Kurigram is crisscrossed by rivers originating in India, and every year after the monsoon, they run dry due to upstream diversions. The hardest hit are the riverside communities, who now rely on artificial irrigation for agriculture, and even fishing has become impossible due to the lack of water.

Local farmers lament that the rivers have become deserts, making cultivation difficult and leaving them without food or income from fishing. They demand year-round water in the rivers to sustain their traditional way of life.

Furthermore, sedimentation has raised riverbeds, causing floods during the rainy season when upstream water is released, damaging homes and crops. Yet during the dry months, there’s not enough water for daily needs.

Although there are plans to dredge rivers like the Teesta and Dharla to improve navigability, Water Development Board officials say there are currently no projects to build downstream structures to retain water. According to Md. Rakibul Hasan, Executive Engineer of the Kurigram Water Development Board, while dredging will help some rivers hold more water, no initiatives have been taken to construct retention structures downstream.

Among the 16 rivers flowing through the district, the major ones include the Brahmaputra, Dharla, Teesta, and Dudhkumar, with over 200 canals and wetlands spread across Kurigram’s nine upazilas.