Bangladesh drying up as India withdrawing Ganges water
Abdur Rahman Khan
Bangladesh is getting drier every year due to India's unilateral withdrawal of water from the common river Ganges flowing upstream from India. The quantity of water down the Farakka point has been critically declining due to taking out of the Ganges water by upper riparian India through various canals by violating the water sharing agreement.
Over and above, there are other unresolved issues and irritants between India and Bangladesh, one of which is the long outstanding border issue. Bangladesh had long ago handed over its Berubari enclave to India but has been waiting for more than 34 years to get the Mujib-Indira Border Accord ratified by Indian parliament for the handover of Tin-Bigha corridor to Bangladesh.
But the irritant which remains singularly thorny since long between Dhaka and Delhi is the water sharing issue of the common rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh. The flow of the once-mighty river Ganges (Padma) has decreased alarmingly due to withdrawal of water at Farakka point in India, leading to drying up of at least 15 of its tributaries. It is now a mere memory that the fishermen living along the river Padma used to catch hilsa fish near Rajshahi city but� in last couple of decades waters has dried up giving rise to� sandy islands� on the dried bed of the Padma.
Unilateral withdrawal of the Ganges water during the dry months resulted in serious adverse effects in the south-western and western districts of Bangladesh, covering almost 20 per cent of country's area. It has adversely affected the environment, agriculture, industries, fisheries, navigation the river regime and salinity culminating in the surface and ground water.
The effects of this have been severe for Bangladesh where the salinity front have moved some 280 kilometers upstream northward from the coast in the south and the salinity level in surface water has increased almost six times. It was also evident that the Sundarbans, one of the world's largest mangrove forests, is being degraded due to increased salinity in the estuarine rivers.
Meanwhile, much to Bangladesh's agony, India is moving ahead with its plan of interlinking its Himalayan rivers with those in the peninsular region through 30 interlinking canal systems. Already, the project has raised controversy and debate. Interlinking rivers will directly hit Bangladesh because India's rivers pass through Bangladesh. Besides, the basis of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems are shared by Nepal and Bangladesh.
In India, the project has been criticised on environmental grounds. It is feared that implementation might cause vast forest tracts to be submerged, disturbing wildlife, displacing communities, affecting livelihood and transforming water quality and microclimatic conditions affecting human health.
To implement the project, India must enter into agreements with Nepal and Bangladesh, as these countries share the basins of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems. However, Bangladesh is seriously concerned as India plans to divert vast quantities of water from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers to India's southern states, directly threatening the livelihoods of millions of people in the country as well as its environment. These rivers are crucial sources of freshwater for the country.
Agriculture is the main mode of livelihood in Bangladesh where over 65 per cent of the population is dependent on farming. That is why the people's livelihood is inextricably linked to water. Bangladesh's water, both above and below the ground, provides a multitude of services to its population: water to drink, water for agricultural production, fishery and river transport. Water is Bangladesh's lifeline that is now under stress putting the nation in a bad situation.
The crisis began with the construction of Farakka Barrage on the Ganges in India at about 20 km upstream from Bangladesh border soon after her independence. The Farakka barrage was completed in 1974 for diverting Ganges water into the Hoogly river for the stated purpose of improving navigability� of Kolkata� port.
For the test run of the barrage, a water sharing agreement with India was made in 1975 for diverting 11,000 to 16,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water between April 21 and May 31, 1975 leaving about 44,000 cusecs for Bangladesh.
However, India started unilateral withdrawal of water upstream in 1976 without any agreement severely affecting Bangladesh in the dry season. Bangladesh had to take the issue to the United nations General Assembly and finally an agreement was concluded in 1977 for five years.
With the expiry of the first five-year agreement, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in 1982 between Bangladesh and India on the sharing of Ganges water. After it expired in 1988, the countries failed to reach a new agreement and entered a period marked by disagreement. During this time, India continued unilateral diversion Ganges water through the Farakka Barrage. Finally on December 12, 1996, Bangladesh and India signed a treaty on sharing of Ganges water.
Negotiations on the sharing of Ganges water at Farakka started in 1960 at the time of the sharing of Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan. India decided to construct a barrage across the Ganges at Farakka in 1951 in order to divert water to Bhagirathi to maintain its navigability.
India's decision to start construction of Farakka Barrage in 1960 violated the international norms on infrastructure for the diversion of water on any international river. Construction of the 7363 feet long barrage -- designed for a maximum discharge of 27,00,000� cusecs and a head regulator for diversion capacity of 40,000 cusecs of flow -- was completed in 1974.
India then approached Bangladesh for a test operation of the Farakka Barrage and feeder canal. The then Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman agreed to India's proposal for the test operation of the barrage and the feeder canal. Initially in 1975, India was allowed to divert flows varying from 11,000 cusecs to 16,000 cusecs for a period of 41 days from April 21 to may 31 in 1975.
It was the understanding in 1975 that India would not operate the feeder canal until a final agreement was reached between India and Bangladesh on the sharing of Ganges water. However, India, in violation of the understanding, diverted the Ganges water in the upstream in 1976 and 1977.
The 1996 treaty established a new formula for sharing the Ganges water at Farakka in the dry season (January 1 to May 31). According to the agreement, two governments would immediately would sit for consultation to make adjustments on emergency basis in case of drastic fall of waters below 50,000 cusecs in any 10-day period. If the discharge is 70,000 cusecs or less, both the countries will share 50 per cent. In case of a flow between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs, Bangladesh will receive 35,000 cusecs and when the flow is above 75,000 cusecs, India will receive 40, 000 cusecs and Bangladesh will receive the balance.
Article 11 of the agreement made it clear that agreements will be reviewed every five years and if no agreement can be reached or adjusted India will release at least 90 per cent of Bangladesh's share. However, the fault of the agreement was that no provision for international arbitration was spelled out in case of any dispute.
However, the recent statistics reveal that Bangladesh received less amount of water in each ten-day slot from January to March this year.
According to the agreement, Bangladesh was to get a share of 408,046 cusecs of water in eight slots during the period of January 01 to March 20 this year but got only 257,235 cusecs. Bangladesh was deprived by 150,811 cusecs of water during the period.
In this regard, a written protest from Bangladesh side was made through the Joint River Commission and also the mater was taken up at diplomatic level.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Padma is falling down by one meter on an average every March. It came down by 2.50 meters from January to mid-March.
In March 2000, the water level in Padma was at a height of 10.65 meters while it came down to 9.62 meters in March 2004 and at 9.05 in March 2007. The record shows that the level of water came down to a level of 8.99 meters by the end of the first week of March this year (2008). It was at 11.30 meters in December last.
Bangladesh water experts pointed out that India's claim for low discharge in the Ganges due to natural causes was not supported by facts as it was not maintaining the flow in the upper riparian on the basis of 40-years of average, as agreed in the water sharing treaty.
To maintain a steady flow in the upper riparian, Nepal could be involved for augmentation of the Ganges water, the experts suggested. But India is not sincere enough to involve Nepal in a tri-partite agreement in spite of Nepal's willingness to help resolve the crisis.
Whatever might be the water statistics and discord, the adverse impact, a slow-motion disaster, is hitting Bangladesh with little concern among the ruling regime. Unfortunately, Bangladesh under a non-elected Caretaker Government is active in working out a railway link as desired by India and also the facility to use Chittagong port keeping the Bangladesh demands pending over the years.
 |
Over and above, there are other unresolved issues and irritants between India and Bangladesh, one of which is the long outstanding border issue. Bangladesh had long ago handed over its Berubari enclave to India but has been waiting for more than 34 years to get the Mujib-Indira Border Accord ratified by Indian parliament for the handover of Tin-Bigha corridor to Bangladesh.
But the irritant which remains singularly thorny since long between Dhaka and Delhi is the water sharing issue of the common rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh. The flow of the once-mighty river Ganges (Padma) has decreased alarmingly due to withdrawal of water at Farakka point in India, leading to drying up of at least 15 of its tributaries. It is now a mere memory that the fishermen living along the river Padma used to catch hilsa fish near Rajshahi city but� in last couple of decades waters has dried up giving rise to� sandy islands� on the dried bed of the Padma.
Unilateral withdrawal of the Ganges water during the dry months resulted in serious adverse effects in the south-western and western districts of Bangladesh, covering almost 20 per cent of country's area. It has adversely affected the environment, agriculture, industries, fisheries, navigation the river regime and salinity culminating in the surface and ground water.
The effects of this have been severe for Bangladesh where the salinity front have moved some 280 kilometers upstream northward from the coast in the south and the salinity level in surface water has increased almost six times. It was also evident that the Sundarbans, one of the world's largest mangrove forests, is being degraded due to increased salinity in the estuarine rivers.
Meanwhile, much to Bangladesh's agony, India is moving ahead with its plan of interlinking its Himalayan rivers with those in the peninsular region through 30 interlinking canal systems. Already, the project has raised controversy and debate. Interlinking rivers will directly hit Bangladesh because India's rivers pass through Bangladesh. Besides, the basis of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems are shared by Nepal and Bangladesh.
In India, the project has been criticised on environmental grounds. It is feared that implementation might cause vast forest tracts to be submerged, disturbing wildlife, displacing communities, affecting livelihood and transforming water quality and microclimatic conditions affecting human health.
To implement the project, India must enter into agreements with Nepal and Bangladesh, as these countries share the basins of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems. However, Bangladesh is seriously concerned as India plans to divert vast quantities of water from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers to India's southern states, directly threatening the livelihoods of millions of people in the country as well as its environment. These rivers are crucial sources of freshwater for the country.
Agriculture is the main mode of livelihood in Bangladesh where over 65 per cent of the population is dependent on farming. That is why the people's livelihood is inextricably linked to water. Bangladesh's water, both above and below the ground, provides a multitude of services to its population: water to drink, water for agricultural production, fishery and river transport. Water is Bangladesh's lifeline that is now under stress putting the nation in a bad situation.
The crisis began with the construction of Farakka Barrage on the Ganges in India at about 20 km upstream from Bangladesh border soon after her independence. The Farakka barrage was completed in 1974 for diverting Ganges water into the Hoogly river for the stated purpose of improving navigability� of Kolkata� port.
For the test run of the barrage, a water sharing agreement with India was made in 1975 for diverting 11,000 to 16,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water between April 21 and May 31, 1975 leaving about 44,000 cusecs for Bangladesh.
However, India started unilateral withdrawal of water upstream in 1976 without any agreement severely affecting Bangladesh in the dry season. Bangladesh had to take the issue to the United nations General Assembly and finally an agreement was concluded in 1977 for five years.
With the expiry of the first five-year agreement, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in 1982 between Bangladesh and India on the sharing of Ganges water. After it expired in 1988, the countries failed to reach a new agreement and entered a period marked by disagreement. During this time, India continued unilateral diversion Ganges water through the Farakka Barrage. Finally on December 12, 1996, Bangladesh and India signed a treaty on sharing of Ganges water.
Negotiations on the sharing of Ganges water at Farakka started in 1960 at the time of the sharing of Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan. India decided to construct a barrage across the Ganges at Farakka in 1951 in order to divert water to Bhagirathi to maintain its navigability.
India's decision to start construction of Farakka Barrage in 1960 violated the international norms on infrastructure for the diversion of water on any international river. Construction of the 7363 feet long barrage -- designed for a maximum discharge of 27,00,000� cusecs and a head regulator for diversion capacity of 40,000 cusecs of flow -- was completed in 1974.
India then approached Bangladesh for a test operation of the Farakka Barrage and feeder canal. The then Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman agreed to India's proposal for the test operation of the barrage and the feeder canal. Initially in 1975, India was allowed to divert flows varying from 11,000 cusecs to 16,000 cusecs for a period of 41 days from April 21 to may 31 in 1975.
It was the understanding in 1975 that India would not operate the feeder canal until a final agreement was reached between India and Bangladesh on the sharing of Ganges water. However, India, in violation of the understanding, diverted the Ganges water in the upstream in 1976 and 1977.
The 1996 treaty established a new formula for sharing the Ganges water at Farakka in the dry season (January 1 to May 31). According to the agreement, two governments would immediately would sit for consultation to make adjustments on emergency basis in case of drastic fall of waters below 50,000 cusecs in any 10-day period. If the discharge is 70,000 cusecs or less, both the countries will share 50 per cent. In case of a flow between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs, Bangladesh will receive 35,000 cusecs and when the flow is above 75,000 cusecs, India will receive 40, 000 cusecs and Bangladesh will receive the balance.
Article 11 of the agreement made it clear that agreements will be reviewed every five years and if no agreement can be reached or adjusted India will release at least 90 per cent of Bangladesh's share. However, the fault of the agreement was that no provision for international arbitration was spelled out in case of any dispute.
However, the recent statistics reveal that Bangladesh received less amount of water in each ten-day slot from January to March this year.
According to the agreement, Bangladesh was to get a share of 408,046 cusecs of water in eight slots during the period of January 01 to March 20 this year but got only 257,235 cusecs. Bangladesh was deprived by 150,811 cusecs of water during the period.
In this regard, a written protest from Bangladesh side was made through the Joint River Commission and also the mater was taken up at diplomatic level.
Meanwhile, the water level in the Padma is falling down by one meter on an average every March. It came down by 2.50 meters from January to mid-March.
In March 2000, the water level in Padma was at a height of 10.65 meters while it came down to 9.62 meters in March 2004 and at 9.05 in March 2007. The record shows that the level of water came down to a level of 8.99 meters by the end of the first week of March this year (2008). It was at 11.30 meters in December last.
Bangladesh water experts pointed out that India's claim for low discharge in the Ganges due to natural causes was not supported by facts as it was not maintaining the flow in the upper riparian on the basis of 40-years of average, as agreed in the water sharing treaty.
To maintain a steady flow in the upper riparian, Nepal could be involved for augmentation of the Ganges water, the experts suggested. But India is not sincere enough to involve Nepal in a tri-partite agreement in spite of Nepal's willingness to help resolve the crisis.
Whatever might be the water statistics and discord, the adverse impact, a slow-motion disaster, is hitting Bangladesh with little concern among the ruling regime. Unfortunately, Bangladesh under a non-elected Caretaker Government is active in working out a railway link as desired by India and also the facility to use Chittagong port keeping the Bangladesh demands pending over the years.
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