RAJSHAHI, Oct 23 (BSS): People of the metropolis in a post-rally meeting have called for immediate implementation of the Ganges Barrage Project and North Rajshahi Irrigation Project to protect the country's south-western region, including the Sundarbans.
They viewed that proposed Ganges Barrage will be a blessing for Bangladesh since the country is a low riparian area facing water-related problems.
About US$ 4 billion is needed to implement the Ganges Barrage Project, but the annual incremental benefit of the project will be Tk 73.40 billion, which means the cost of barrage project will be returned within five years, they claim.
Rajshahi Raksha Sangram Parishad (RRSP), a social organisation of the city, organised the meeting at Chamber bhaban crossing putting forward the demand Sunday.
With RRSP President Liakat Ali in the chair, General Secretary Jamat Khan, President of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industries Md Muniruzzaman, Freedom Fighter Shahjahan Ali Borjahan, General Secretary of Rajshahi Union of Journalists Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Debashish Pramanik Debu of Workers' Party of Bangladesh and local unit president of Women Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh Anjuman Ara Begum spoke on the occasion.
According to the feasibility study, once the project is implemented, agricultural production in the Ganges dependent area will increase while additional paddy production would be about 2.6 million tonnes minimising the crop damage area and loss of paddy significantly. Additional fish production would be about 0.24 million tonnes, the speakers said.
The increased upstream water flow will reduce the rate of siltation in the river system in the Southwest region. About 33 per cent area of the Sundarbans would become moderately low saline zones and about 11, 000 hectares of land in the Sundarbans would become very low salinity zone.
About benefits of the project, Liakat Ali said agricultural production will increase in the region and its one-third of population will be benefited economically and environmentally from the project.
He said Bangladesh will not face any trouble in getting equity share of the trans-boundary river water as per the Ganges Water Treaty signed between Bangladesh and India in 1996. Bangladesh will be benefited from the project in all aspects - salinity will be reduced considerably and all dead rivers of the region will be recharged after implementation of the project.
The government has already completed the feasibility study and design of the proposed 2.1km long Ganges Barrage Project at Pangsha of Rajbari, some 98km downstream from the Farakka Barrage built in the Paschimbanga state of India.
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