Ganges Barrage Project to be a blessing for BD: Experts

FE Team | Published: March 29, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The proposed Ganges Barrage Project will be a blessing for Bangladesh since it is a low riparian area now faces water-related problems for long, according to experts, reports UNB.
Noted water expert Prof Ainun Nishat said the Ganges Barrage Project should be implemented as soon as possible to protect the country's southwestern region, including the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans from salinity intrusion.
He suggested applying innovative method in implementing the proposed Ganges Barrage Project unlike the one being followed in the Teesat Barrage and restoring all dying rivers in the region through it.
The government has already completed the feasibility study and design of the long-cherished proposed 2.1 km-long Ganges Barrage Project at Pangsha of Rajbari district, around 98 kilometers downstream from the Farakka Barrage built on the common Ganges River in the Paschimbanga state of India.
The proposed project will have a reservoir for flow augmentation of water and its equitable distribution both dry and wet season over the Ganges dependent area. The project will meet the demand of the Ganges water for agriculture, fisheries, ecosystems and navigation, experts and officials say.
Director (water resources) of Dhaka-based Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) M Sarfaraz Wahed said 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.
He said the Gorai river system with its augmented flow will provide an improved navigational route to and from the country's second seaport, Mongla.
Environmental expert Dr Atiq Rahman said the Ganges Barrage is a long-standing project which was discussed in last several decades.
"Obviously, Bangladesh will be benefited from the barrage project, but it's urgent to conduct vigorous environmental, social and climate impact assessments before implementation of the project," he said.
Official sources said the increased water flow through the Hisna-Mathabhanga, Gorai-Modhumati and Chandana-Barasia systems will provide the required flow for the ecosystem and reduce environmental degradation in the Ganges dependent area. The surface water salinity will be reduced due to increased upstream water flow.
About benefits of the project, Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud 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.