The International Farakka Committee (IFC) has demanded the government sign a new agreement with India on the water-sharing of the Ganges and other rivers on the basis of coordinated river basin management to ensure the adequate flow of waters into Bangladesh.
They said the existing 30-year agreement which was signed in 1996 with neighbouring India will expire in 2026 and a fresh agreement needs to be inked to ensure the adequate water flow into the rivers flowing from the Himalayan river basin.
Chairman of the IFC Bangladesh chapter and former Vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University Prof Jasim Uddin made the demand at a views-exchange meeting at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity on Saturday.
The IFC Senior Vice-chairman and water expert Dr SI Khan, central leader of New York-based IFC Ataur Rahman and its coordinator senior journalist Mostafa Kamal Majumder were also present on the occasion.
The committee said all the countries in the region, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan, are signatories to the Global Water Partnership, a UN body which has been pursuing for a river basin-based coordinated water management for ensuring uninterrupted flow of waters into all the countries which cross the international rivers.
“But unfortunately, such river basin-based water management is not taking place in sharing the waters of the rivers flowing from the Himalayan basin,” said SI Khan, who was also a Bangladesh representative in UN on water issue.
He said Bangladesh has been a big victim to the Farakka Barrage as it is not getting its rightful stake in water due to this dam, resulting in desertification of the country’s northern region.
“Now, many Indian experts, social activists, political parties and even the chief minister of Bihar State are demanding the removal of Farakka Barrage for the sake of uninterrupted water flow as this barrage has caused enormous damage to them,” said Mostafa Kamal Majumder.
The IFC leaders said Bangladesh has already sent a letter to the Joint River Commission of the two countries about not getting the due share of the water under the ‘96-Ganges Water Treaty.
They said both the neighbouring nations are now enjoying their best time of relations which should be utilised by the Bangladesh government to ensure proper share of waters of all the 54 rivers flowing from the Himalayan basin through India to Bangladesh.
