Ensuring smooth water flows of rivers

FE Team | Published: October 19, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The reduced flow of the Padma in Bangladesh over the years has been causing atrophy to a number of rivers in its western part. Many people say the fall-outs from the Farakka barrage in India are largely responsible for this. The rivers were the arteries of the two major tributaries of the Padma - the Gorai and Madhumati rivers. The once mighty tributaries of the Padma presently have a thin canal-like existence. These hardly hold enough waters to feed their distributaries. Thus, all such rivers have been facing a gradual death. The entire region comprising Khulna, Jessore and Satkhira used to be ecologically alive from the flow of these now dead rivers. The drying up of these rivers and the consequent growing aridity in the region are causing extensive damage, direct or indirect, to the local economy, affecting very adversely the lives of people. In many places, the underground water levels have been falling precariously, denying vital water supplies for irrigation. Fishermen have already lost their occupations. The trees and vegetation are suffering inconsolably from the growing waterlessness. Industries have taken a flight from the region. For example, the Khulna Paper Mill (KPM), a nationally important one, was closed down several years back as it could no longer be supplied with fresh water. The waters in the nearby Pasur river turned very saline. Futile efforts were made to keep the KPM alive by bringing fresh water in barges from a long distance. The mill was closed when such operations turned no more feasible. The health conditions of the people in Khulna and adjoining areas have also deteriorated from excess salinity in the ground waters. People from this region have been migrating to other areas of the country in search of better conditions for health and for livelihood. The conditions in other areas of the country are also under varying degrees of threat from unilateral activities in the upstream Indian territories to divert waters from common rivers. India has so far not firmly committed about putting on hold its programme for building the Tipaimukh dam. Rather, recent media reports indicate that the Indian authorities are poised to build it. The construction of this dam, as it is feared by many quarters including experts in the country, will cause similar Farraka-like effects over vast stretches of north eastern and central Bangladesh by interfering with the flow of the Brahmaputra. Another major river, Teesta and its tributaries have already dried up inside Bangladesh. If it keeps on like this, then Bangladesh would soon be heading for an environmental death. To preclude this possibility, urgent result-oriented talks with India are necessary.