EXECUTION of the Ganges Barrage has been on hold for the last 40 years. The project is considered vitally important to save a large part of the country’s Southwestern area which has been severely deprived of sufficient water flows since operationalisation of the Farakka Barrage in 1974 by big neighbour India. Lastly, the government made a plan to float a tender for construction works of the Ganges Barrage. There is a common agreement among the experts and policy decision makers that a barrage with reservoir at GK point can be a good safety bulb to ward off the fallouts of Farakka Barrage. But the experiences gained from Teesta Project or similar other barrages tell a different story–one often marked by failure to attain the targeted results.
A report carried by a national English daily on Friday said, the government has finalized the draft design of the Ganges Barrage which would consist of a 165km long reservoir from Pangsa, Rajbari to Pangkha, Chapainawabganj, with a depth of 12.5 metres to hold 290 crore cubic litres of water. Apparently, the plan bears a major significance to public health and agriculture in the southwest zone if it works successfully. But the proposed barrage can only be justified if its share of water flow from rivers originating in India is granted.
India allowed a minimum 44,000 cusecs of water to Bangladesh at the time of the first trial run of the Farakka Barrage in 1974.
Under the 1st Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, 1977, India allowed a minimum of 34,500 cusecs of water for five years. The 2nd Water Sharing Treaty of 1996, valid for 30 years, reduced water supply to a minimum of 27,633 cusecs to Bangladesh during the lean period. But the reality testifies the difference between the actual and guaranteed flows due to India’s unwillingness to abide by the ToRs of the treaty. Latest data show that the current seasonal water flow in Padma at Hardinge Bridge point has declined to mere 553 cusecs on 20 March 2014.
According to the report, China agreed to provide loans for the project if it is viable. But our government is yet to send the feasibility report to China. Though it has announced plans for inviting bidding for the project by the year-end. The construction of the Ganges Barrage will cost a staggering Tk 31,414 crores as per provisional estimates. So an uncertainty over financing is still there. Moreover, without ensuring water supply from the upstream, the proposed Ganges Barrage may turn to be a white elephant – another source of wastage of public money.
The project, as noted in the feasibility study, will reduce the soil salinity level through irrigation in the surrounding areas of southwestern rivers. Here, there is a need to evaluate the existing Ganges-Kobodak project (GK project) that suffers from a huge shortage of irrigation water, leaving a question of the overall effectiveness of the project. The better outcome of any public project must aim at the best-assured interests of the people. Therefore a careful feasibility study is essential for the implementation of the project.
