WATER in the River Padma and its tributaries yesterday continued to swell as upstream flow from India continued feeding the rivers in Bangladesh after India opened all the floodgates at Farakka Barrage on the Ganges on Sunday. Flood situation worsened in Kushtia and Pabna while many areas of Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi, Sirajganj, Tangail, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Magura, Faridpur, Madaripur and Shariatpur are feared to go under water. All the major rivers in Bangladesh are in rising trend except the Jamuna. The River Padma and its tributaries and the Meghna are in rising trend which may continue in the next two days, warned the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre.
The Farakka Barrage is bad not only for Bangladesh but also for India. Recent studies show that the average depth of the Ganga has decreased by almost 50 per cent from Patna to Farakka in Bengal’s Murshidabad district – a waterway distance of 460km downstream – in the four decades since the barrage was built. A writ petition filed by various Indians has claimed that the damages caused by the Farakka Barrage come to around Rs 3,226 crore annually via increasing water levels and salinity–and this is only in India. The Kolkata Port continues to dredge an ever-increasing amount of silt to maintain its usefulness; from 6.4 million cum (cubic metre) before the barrage was constructed, they need to annually dredge out 21.18 million cubic metres nowadays.
Reduced discharge in the Ganga due to the barrage has increased both salinity and sedimentation in Bangladesh too. This salinity has had negative effects on agriculture, forestry, industry and drinking water in the Southwest region of Bangladesh. The economically and socially important fish hilsha has drastically declined due to the Farakka Barrage.
We think, in the long term a free-flowing river will mean stability in the region. In the course of time it’s proved that a dam or barrage, especially in the case of a silt-laden river like the Ganga, exacerbates flooding upstream and erosion downstream of the structure. This is precisely what we are witnessing on the Ganga. There is an indication that the damage along the banks of the river will be reduced if Farakka is decommissioned.
The Farakka Barrage is bad not only for Bangladesh but also for India. Recent studies show that the average depth of the Ganga has decreased by almost 50 per cent from Patna to Farakka in Bengal’s Murshidabad district – a waterway distance of 460km downstream – in the four decades since the barrage was built. A writ petition filed by various Indians has claimed that the damages caused by the Farakka Barrage come to around Rs 3,226 crore annually via increasing water levels and salinity–and this is only in India. The Kolkata Port continues to dredge an ever-increasing amount of silt to maintain its usefulness; from 6.4 million cum (cubic metre) before the barrage was constructed, they need to annually dredge out 21.18 million cubic metres nowadays.
Reduced discharge in the Ganga due to the barrage has increased both salinity and sedimentation in Bangladesh too. This salinity has had negative effects on agriculture, forestry, industry and drinking water in the Southwest region of Bangladesh. The economically and socially important fish hilsha has drastically declined due to the Farakka Barrage.
We think, in the long term a free-flowing river will mean stability in the region. In the course of time it’s proved that a dam or barrage, especially in the case of a silt-laden river like the Ganga, exacerbates flooding upstream and erosion downstream of the structure. This is precisely what we are witnessing on the Ganga. There is an indication that the damage along the banks of the river will be reduced if Farakka is decommissioned.
