Rangpur, Oct. 30 -- Once a mighty river that breathed life into northern Bangladesh, the Teesta now lies silent and broken, as its shimmering waters replaced by stretches of sand and its flow reduced to a faint memory for the millions who once depended on it.

The lifeline of two crore people lies gasping for breath as its waters vanishing, its banks eroding and its people left clinging to the memories of a river that once defined their existence.

Once a symbol of abundance, locals said, the Teesta today survives only in fragments, swelling briefly during monsoon, then receding into a barren desert of cracked sandbanks as winter approaches. The river's decline has plunged the lives of Teesta basin residents into uncertainty, threatening ...