[🇧🇩] India's Water Terrorism Against Bangladesh

[Bilal9]

What about decommissioning Farakka Barrage?

The Farakka Barrage on the mighty river Ganges was commissioned on April 21, 1975 on a trial basis. And with its commissioning, a large section of people of Bangladesh became mistrustful of India, which had strongly supported the independence war of Bangladesh and made huge sacrifices. The main re

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

What about decommissioning Farakka Barrage?
MIR MOSTAFIZUR RAHAMAN
Published :
Jun 26, 2024 21:49
Updated :
Jun 26, 2024 21:49
View attachment 6627

The Farakka Barrage on the mighty river Ganges was commissioned on April 21, 1975 on a trial basis. And with its commissioning, a large section of people of Bangladesh became mistrustful of India, which had strongly supported the independence war of Bangladesh and made huge sacrifices.

The main reason for mistrust is the adverse effect of Farakka Barrage on the economy of Bangladesh that is largely dependent on agriculture for its sustenance. But the irony is that after 20 years of its commissioning, people for whom the barrage was constructed, are now raising voice against it. Located in West Bengal, India, the Farakka Barrage is roughly 16.5km away from the Bangladesh border.

The purpose of the barrage was to ensure navigability of the Kolkata Port by flushing out silt by discharging water at the rate of 1800 cubic meter per second from the Hooghly River. After commissioning the project, Indian experts said that it was observed that the diverted water flow from the Farakka Barrage was not enough for the purpose.Eventually, it was found that the water diverted from the barrage is less than 10 per cent of the water of the Ganges river available at Farakka.

Against this backdrop, the chief minister of the West Bengal, Mamara Banarjee has publicly questioned the necessity of the Farakka Barrage. A couple of days ago, she wrote a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wherein she had drawn a vivid picture of the negative impact of the Farakka Barrage on the people and their livelihoods in West Bengal.

"In fact, the genesis of construction of Farakka Barrage project is the disconnection of Bhagirathi from the Ganges. As part of this project, a feeder canal has been constructed to provide at least 40000 cusec for proper functioning of the Kolkata port. It is very pertinent to mention that the flow of silt into Hooghly has also reduced over the years after the barrage was constructed" the West Bengal chief minister wrote in her letter.

"This has accentuated erosion by the rivers and the areas both in the upstream and downstream of the barrage have faced serious loss of life and property including public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals; health centres, power lines in the past. Lakhs of people have been displaced from their habitation rendering them homeless and also leading to their loss of livelihood. The reduced silt load in Hooghly has impeded the nourishment of Sundarban delta" she explained.

People of Bangladesh believe that Farakka Barrage, built across the Ganges is the key reason for drying up of many rivers in their country, including the Padma near Rajshahi. Experts said the barrage is not a problem for Bangladesh alone, it also poses a problem for the people who live in its vicinity in India. In fact, Farrakka project is a vivid example of how development projects have been undertaken without thinking about the lives of people living near the river. The rivers of Bangladesh are dying. The sweet water content inside the rivers has diminished, and there has been a steady rise in salinity.

Built to revive the Kolkata port, it is now blamed for reducing water flow, increasing salinity and drying up the waters around the Sundarbans.

Mamata Banerjee raised the issue in reference to the recent Hasina-Modi meeting, which decided to renew the Ganges Water Sharing treaty, which is to expire in 2026. She made it clear that without her consent the proposed renewal would not be acceptable. And it is more or less clear that she may not accept a deal without a solution of the crisis triggered by the Farakka Barrage.

Under the prevailing circumstances, questions are being raised by many whether decommissioning of the Farakka Barrage could be a solution to the problem. One will have to wait and see what transpires finally.​

Same thing like Teesta, ditto solution.

Build a barrage downstream within fifty miles of Farakka, our side of the border.

Then we will see how many paddy, how many rice. Entire Bihar and WB will be underwater, because (unlike us) their leaders never spend any money on dredging their rivers.

Enough useless talk for fifty years. These people are experts at stalling.

 

[Saif]

I don't know why we are even wasting time dealing with two bit elements and their barking, as if they matter. Signing an agreement for Teesta with the Chinese was needed yesterday. Forge ahead and let's get it done already....

Fokirni Hasina has already indicated that she would give the Teesta project to India instead of China. India has deprived us of Teesta water and as a reward for this Hasina is about to give them $1 billion Teesta restoration project. She is a traitor.

 

[Saif]

Same thing like Teesta, ditto solution.

Build a barrage downstream within fifty miles of Farakka, our side of the border.

Then we will see how many paddy, how many rice. Entire Bihar and WB will be underwater, because (unlike us) their leaders never spend any money on dredging their rivers.

Enough useless talk for fifty years. These people are experts at stalling.

Due to Indian pressure, the Mirjafor of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has already cancelled the Ganges barrage project in 2017.

 

[Bilal9]

Due to Indian pressure, the Mirjafor of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has already cancelled the Ganges barrage project in 2017.

Once we oust this woman (and be ousted she shall), Teesta will need to be first priority, as will be Ganges Barrage...

 

[Saif]

Once we oust this woman (and be ousted she shall), Teesta will need to be first priority, as will be Ganges Barrage...

Fingers crossed.

 

[Saif]

Chinese plan about Teesta River Comprehensive Restoration Project has been described in the video below.

 

[Saif]

The Teesta management project presents new challenges before Bangladesh

If Bangladesh cannot get an equitable share of the water from upstream, the Teesta crisis will not be resolved.

www.thedailystar.net

The Teesta management project presents new challenges before Bangladesh

Any discussion on the Teesta management should involve a water-sharing agreement with India. FILE PHOTO: STAR

Discussing the Teesta water-sharing agreement has become part of the routine in prime-minister-level meetings between Bangladesh and India. In each meeting, the prime minister of Bangladesh would request the Indian prime minister for the conclusion of the interim agreement on sharing the water of Teesta, as agreed upon by both governments in January 2011. And then the Indian PM would reiterate that his government was working with all the stakeholders in India for an early conclusion of the agreement. This kind of request and assurance can be found in all the recent joint statements, like the joint statements issued during the Bangladesh PM's visit to India in October 2019, and the Indian PM's visit to Bangladesh in March 2021.

However, an exception can be seen in the statement of September 2022, during the Bangladesh PM's visit to India, where she raised the issue of signing the draft Teesta agreement prepared in 2011. That time, there was no assurance from the Indian PM in the statement. Subsequently, neither of the prime ministers mentioned the Teesta water-sharing agreement in the joint statement titled "India-Bangladesh Shared Vision for Future," issued after the latest visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India on June 21-22 this year.

Instead, it was announced that an Indian technical team would soon visit Bangladesh to discuss "conservation and management of the Teesta River inside Bangladesh." What India meant by "conservation and management" was elaborated on by Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

"It is less about the water-sharing part, but more about management of water flow within the Teesta River," explained Secretary Kwatra, in a special media briefing.

This omission of the Teesta water-sharing agreement from the joint statement is a significant change. Does this mean that the Teesta water-sharing agenda has been abandoned?

The discussion on the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project (TRCMRP) has been going on in Bangladesh for quite a few years. This megaproject to restore the Teesta is supposed to be implemented with financial and technical assistance from China. Since 2019, China and Bangladesh have been discussing this matter. Now it appears that India has also become seriously interested in the project.

This is because the region where the TRCMRP is to be implemented is deemed strategically important by India. According to a report in the Hindustan Times on June 22, besides worries about water flow data and other information on the cross-border river being scooped up by China, India has concerns about Chinese personnel establishing a presence at the project site located near the "chicken's neck"—the narrow strip of land connecting the northeast of India to the rest of the country.

But will the Teesta crisis be solved by conserving and managing the water of the Teesta inside Bangladesh? The main problem of the Teesta River is India's unilateral withdrawal of water from the river by building barrages upstream and the creation of obstacles in river flow by constructing infrastructure projects, including hydroelectric power plants. So, what will be the procedure of involving India, the country which is responsible for drying up the Teesta River and depriving Bangladesh of the fair share of the river's water, in the management of the river inside Bangladesh? Accepting India's technical assistance in an attempt to revitalise the Teesta in its current state, without entering a water-sharing agreement, could mean accepting unilateral withdrawal of water from the Teesta by India.

No matter what activities are done under the Teesta megaproject, if Bangladesh cannot get an equitable share of the water from upstream, the Teesta crisis will not be resolved. Even if the Teesta water-sharing agreement is signed between Bangladesh and India over sharing water only at Gajoldoba point, without taking into account the impact of upstream projects in Sikkim, the crisis will not be solved.

Another question is, no matter which country implements the TRCMRP project, is it really possible to solve the Teesta water crisis by implementing it inside Bangladesh, without removing all the obstacles to the water flow upstream in India? According to a demonstration by Power China, the project involves reducing the width and increasing the depth of the river by dredging and building embankment on both sides, recovering 170 square kilometres of land on both sides of the river by filling with dredging soil and constructing housing and industrial parks, among other things, on that land. At present, the maximum width of the Teesta River is 5.1 kilometres and the average width is 3.1 kilometres. Under the TRCMRP project, this width will be reduced to 0.7 kilometre to one kilometre, which will cause a serious adverse effect on the velocity and water carrying capacity of the river.

According to a study by Dr Md Khalequzzaman, professor of geology and environmental sciences at the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania in the US, due to the reduced cross-section of the river, the velocity of the river will increase. As a result, when the flow of water increases greatly during the rainy season, the erosion tendency of the two banks will increase. Due to the embankments on both sides of the river, most of the tributaries and distributaries of the Teesta will likely be cut off from the main river. For this reason, during flooding, the flow in the river will not spread to its tributaries and distributaries, causing the floods to intensify. Even the reclaimed land will be in the active flood-flow zone of the Teesta and will likely be exposed to flood damage.

But after all these, the proposed TRCMRP will not be able to solve the water scarcity issue because without increased water flow from upstream, no additional water can be generated by dredging the river to greater depths. The water that might become available in the river after deepening the riverbed would be shallow groundwater. Using this water for irrigation will lower the groundwater table in the catchment area, reducing the availability of potable water and irrigation water drawn through shallow tube wells.

So, no matter what activities are done under the Teesta megaproject, if Bangladesh cannot get an equitable share of the water from upstream, the Teesta crisis will not be resolved. Even if the Teesta water-sharing agreement is signed between Bangladesh and India over sharing water only at Gajoldoba point, without taking into account the impact of upstream projects in Sikkim, the crisis will not be solved.

Any discussion on the Teesta management should involve a water-sharing agreement with India which will ensure equitable water flow, enforce restrictions on unilateral changes in upstream river flow, keep provisions for mandatory exchange of data regarding any upstream project, and have the option for third-party dispute settlement. Otherwise, Bangladesh will continue to suffer for the Teesta for decades to come.

Kallol Mustafa is an engineer and writer who focuses on power, energy, environment and development economics.​

 

[Saif]

The Name of a Plundered River

West Bengal is planning to dig two new canals to divert more water from the Teesta River for irrigation, and set up two hydropower projects on its tributary.

www.thedailystar.net

The Name of a Plundered River
West Bengal is planning to dig two new canals to divert more water from the river for irrigation and set up two hydropower projects on a tributary of the river, which will further worsen the sufferings of farmers in Bangladesh.

The drying up of the Teesta River is threatening biodiversity, environment and ecology and hampering the livelihoods of thousands of farmers living in the northern region of Bangladesh. PHOTO: S DILIP ROY

With the Teesta water-sharing deal between Bangladesh and India hanging in the balance for over a decade, West Bengal is planning to dig two new canals to divert more water from the river for irrigation and set up two hydropower projects on a tributary of the river, which will further worsen the sufferings of farmers in Bangladesh. According to these plans, as reported by The Telegraph, a 32km canal to draw water from the Teesta and the Jaldhaka rivers will be dug till Changrabandha of Cooch Behar district, and another 15km canal will be dug on the left bank of Teesta. And two dams named Teesta Low Dam Project (TLDP) I and II will be set up on the Bara Rangeet River to produce 71MW electricity.

This is clearly a violation of all international norms of transboundary river water management, as well as India's commitment given at the 37th meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), held in New Delhi in March 2010. During that meeting, India agreed that "the Indian side would not construct any major structure for diversion of water for consumptive uses upstream of (Gajoldoba) barrage except minor irrigation schemes, drinking water supply and Industrial use" (Article 8, Annexure V).

At the same meeting, Bangladesh proposed a draft water-sharing agreement, according to which the Teesta water would be equally divided between Bangladesh and India, leaving 20 percent in the river to maintain ecological requirements. Had that draft agreement been signed, Bangladesh and India would each get 40 percent of the actual flow available at Gajoldoba point. After much deliberation, the two sides agreed in June 2011 that India would get 42.5 percent and Bangladesh 37.5 percent. But that agreement could not be signed due to the opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Though Mamata mentioned "shortage of water" as the reason for not signing the agreement, her government's latest move to withdraw more water from the river contests the validity of her argument.

Previously, Bangladesh and India signed an ad hoc agreement to share Teesta water at the 25th JRC meeting held in Dhaka in July 1983. According to the agreement, valid till 1985, 36 percent of the water from the Teesta would be allocated to Bangladesh, 39 percent to India, and 25 percent would remain unallocated. These shares would be subject to reallocation upon the completion of scientific studies by the Joint Teesta/Tista Committee. That reallocation agreement never took place, and India continued to withdraw water from the Teesta River.

According to a report published by The Daily Star last year citing data from the JRC, between 1973 and 1985 when the barrage was yet to be built in West Bengal, the daily average flow of water in the river in the last 10 days of March was 6,710 cusec (cubic feet per second). After the barrage became operational, the water flow started to reduce in the dry season while increasing in the monsoon. The flow in the Teesta starts to dwindle in October, and by December the river dries up. To meet the irrigation needs, the flow should be over 5,000 cusecs, but Bangladesh has been getting only 1,200-1,500 cusecs during the dry season, which sometimes drops to as low as 200-300 cusecs.

As a result, the drying up of the Teesta riverbed is threatening biodiversity, environment and ecology, hampering the livelihoods of thousands of farmers living in the northern region of Bangladesh. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), about 60 percent of an estimated 90,000 hectares of land in the river basin areas are left unutilised in the dry season. Many farmers in the Lalmonirhat district, who cultivate crops on the sandy char lands, are compelled to use diesel-run shallow machines to irrigate their croplands, which increases their costs of farming.

In this circumstance, if two new canals are dug and two new dams are built by the West Bengal government, the situation will become unbearable for Bangladesh during the dry season. Along with the Teesta, the Dharla River will also dry up because of water withdrawal from the Jaldhaka River. That's why Bangladesh needs to engage with India immediately in order to stop the new canals and put pressure to sign equitable water-sharing treaties.

Some Bangladeshi experts are concerned that sharing water based on the available water at the Gajoldoba point will not be fair nor optimal for Bangladesh, as the water flow is reduced by the hydropower projects even before it reaches Gajoldoba. Although the dams are termed "run-of-the-river" dams, which are not supposed to affect the river flow, the requirement of water storage for a long time to generate electricity and also the evaporation loss from the reservoirs reduce the downstream flows substantially, especially during the dry season. That's why the experts opine that Bangladesh should demand the minimum historical flow in the Teesta River, which is 4,500 cusecs.

Bangladesh should put pressure on India during bilateral discussions and raise Teesta and other transboundary river water-sharing issues as a mandatory condition for the continuity of India's access to Bangladeshi rivers, inland waterways and seaports. We also need to ratify the UN watercourses convention of 1997, which can be a great tool for a lower riparian country like Bangladesh to get its fair share of water from its big neighbour. According to Article 7.1 of the convention, "Watercourse States shall, in utilising an international watercourse in their territories, take all appropriate measures to prevent the causing of significant harm to other Watercourse States." Article 7.2 says, "Where significant harm nevertheless is caused to another Watercourse State, the States whose use causes such harm shall, in the absence of agreement to such use, take all appropriate measures, having due regard for the provisions of Articles 5 and 6, in consultation with the affected State, to eliminate or mitigate such harm and, where appropriate, to discuss the question of compensation."

It remains a mystery why Bangladesh, being a lower riparian country that suffers from unilateral water withdrawal from a big neighbour, still has not ratified the convention. It's high time Bangladesh ratified the convention and took the disputed water-sharing issues to international platforms to get a fair share of Teesta water from India.

Kallol Mustafa is an engineer and writer who focuses on power, energy, environment and development economics.​