Is Padma Barrage going to see the light of day?

The idea of constructing the Padma Barrage was originally conceived in the 1960s as a strategic response to the Farakka Barrage built by India across the Ganges River (called Padma in Bangladesh) to divert its water into the Hooghly-Bhagirathi water system. The purpose of Farakka Barrage was to flush out silt and increase water depth and thus ensure the navigability and operational viability of Kolkata port. Against this backdrop, the process of constructing the Padma Barrage began. The feasibility studies for the Padma Barrage Project (PBP) were done a number of times. In 2000, the then-BNP government gave the go-ahead to the project and, accordingly, it was suggested that the barrage site be selected either at Thakurbari in Kushtia or at Pangsha in Rajbari. Meanwhile, though detailed studies and work involving engineering design were done for the project during the Awami League regime, the progress of work practically stalled, until it was revived in January this year during the Dr Yunus-led interim government.

At that time, the project evaluation committee of the planning commission reviewed the PBP worth Tk.504.4364 billion for its implementation in two phases. The first phase costing Tk346.08 billion was scheduled for implementation by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) under the Ministry of Water Resources from March this year until June 2033 focusing on construction of core infrastructure subject to ECNEC approval. In the initial phase, the government would primarily start the project with domestic financing. Though previously international financing was not forthcoming, currently some development partners have been showing interest in providing broader budgetary support for the project.

The project, when implemented, will also reduce salinity in the southwest by ensuring year-round water supply to that region as well as to the northwestern regions and protect the Sundarbans' ecosystem. The 2.1 km barrage would have sufficient number of spillway gates, under-sluice gates, a navigation lock, fish passes and a railway bridge. Also, the project is expected to generate around 113 MW of hydroelectricity and supply water to critical installations including the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. The second phase would include additional infrastructures and river system restoration. Following extensive feasibility studies, the Pangsha Point in the Rajbari district was selected as the optimal site. However, the planning adviser of the interim government Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud was not forthcoming about the approval for such a high-cost project without a thorough scrutiny. The good news is that the first phase of the project, as reported in the March 18 issue of this paper, may be placed before the newly elected BNP government's first meeting of its highest economic policy-making body, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) scheduled for April 16 for approval.

Meanwhile, the nation would like to see that the long-awaited Padma Barrage Project has got past the planning stage into its implementation phase. Actually, upon implementation of the PBP, more than one-third of the country's population could be saved from acute shortage of water during the dry season.