WATER scarcity is deepening in the Khulna division as the underground water level has gone down in five previously unaffected districts. Of the 10 districts in Khulna division, this crisis has been prevailing for several years in five districts — Khulna, Narail, Bagerhat, Jashore, and Satkhira and now five more districts have been facing similar problems. The newly affected districts, which cover a large area of Ganges and Gorai river basins, are Kushtia, Jhenaidah, Meherpur, Chuadanga, and Magura. Water scarcity causes immense sufferings to a large number of people in the country’s South and Southwestern region. Environmentalists say inadequacy of fresh water may affect the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.
There was hardly any rain in this region in the last eight months. As a result, the underground water level has gone down between 200 feet and 400 feet. The Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) said around 78 per cent of drinking water sources have already dried up in this region. Water flows in the Ganges and Gorai rivers have decreased significantly as water does not flow from the upper reaches of the Ganges. The Ganges-Kobadak Irrigation Project has been affected. Other irrigation projects dependent on Ganges and Gorai water are under threat.
Bangladesh has been facing problems with Ganges water flow from March every year when the dry season begins. As per the Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty, water flow in the Bangladesh part should be 35,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second). But Bangladesh gets less than this, below 23,000 cusecs. Furthermore, the water supply to the G-K project has been stopped since May 1 as Boro paddy harvesting is going on. When the water flow of the Ganges goes down, smooth water supply to the project cannot be ensured. Climate change has also contributed much to the crisis. Bangladesh should take two pronged actions to protect livelihoods in vast riverine areas by reaching accords for adequate water sharing.
If the Ganges and its distributaries including the Gorai dries up every lean season, the Khulna region of Bangladesh would face even worse water crises in future.
