Water withdrawal from common rivers costs BD Tk 50b a yr: Experts

Withdrawal of water from common rivers by setting up dams in the upstream areas causes a loss of about Tk 50 billion to Bangladesh each year, according to water experts. “Bangladesh suffers a loss of about Tk 50 billion each year due to the withdrawal of water from common rivers by constructing Farakka Barrage, Teesta Barrage and other dams at the upstream of the rivers,” Prof Jasim Uddin Ahmad, former vice chancellor of  Jahangirnagar University, told a seminar on Monday. He suggested the government to lodge complaints with the international court against India to realise compensation since the country installed mega dams on the common rivers of the region to withdraw water, violating international laws and conventions. The International Farakka Committee, an international water rights activists group, organised the seminar titled, ‘The State of Teesta: The Way Forward’ at the Jatiya Press Club in the afternoon, according to a news agency.