IFC blames Farakka project for disasters

Leaders of the International Farakka Committee (IFC), an environmental and water rights watch group, have supported the recent demand by Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar state in India, to decommission the Farakka Barrage, which has caused devastating floods in his state as a result of the accumulation of silt in its upstream. 
Nitish Kumar placed the demand before India's prime minister Narendra Modi recently.
In a joint statement, leaders of IFC, New York, and IFC, Bangladesh, yesterday said the demand voiced by Nitish Kumar has proved, albeit belatedly, the justification of the stand taken by IFC three decades ago. 
The communiqué said, “Being obstructed by the Farakka Barrage, the Ganges flow causes serious wet season floods in the Indian state of Bihar, but denies normal flow to the river’s Bangladesh part, on which one-third of the population of 16 crore is directly dependent, and the entire population indirectly. Denial of even the minimum flow in the lean season has created a serious environmental disaster in Bangladesh. Water flow to the dried-up distributaries of the Ganges cannot be ensured even after years of capital dredging.”
“The adverse effects caused by the diversion of the river’s flow to the socio-economic and environmental life and livelihoods, biodiversity and the ecosystem in the Ganges-dependent areas in Bangladesh are clearly visible to any visitor,” it observed. 
This year, the opening of all the sluice gates of the Farakka Barrage to reduce the pressure of excessive flooding above the barrage led to serious excessive flooding in the Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj regions of Bangladesh. Abnormal floods created by the onrush of water from the upstream have caused serious damage to crops, homesteads, poultry farms and dwelling houses in Jessore and Khulna regions.
Water experts in India have lent support to the demand for decommissioning of the Farakka Barrage as it has not served its purpose, but rather created new problems. Through empirical research, they have determined that the objective of improving the navigability of the Hooghly river by flushing it has not been achieved at all. 
“We welcome the water experts for their candid statement. While reiterating the demand for decommissioning the Farakka Barrage, we also call for removal of structures built on all other common rivers to keep the rivers alive so that they can flow to the sea and render their services to people along their banks,” added the communiqué.
The countries of the region should join each other in protecting the common rivers by ensuring their basin-wide integrated and sustainable management, the IFC leaders added.
Those who issued the statement are: IFC chairman Atiqur Rahman Salu; IFC senior vice-chairman Awlad Hossain Khan; IFC, New York’s secretary general Syed Tipu Sultan; IFC president Prof. Jasim Uddin Ahmad; IFC senior vice-president Dr SI Khan; IFC, Bangladesh’s general secretary Syed Irfanul Bari; and IFC coordinator Mostafa Kamal Majumder.

IFC blames Farakka project for disasters

Leaders of the International Farakka Committee (IFC), an environmental and water rights watch group, have supported the recent demand by Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar state in India, to decommission the Farakka Barrage, which has caused devastating floods in his state as a result of the accumulation of silt in its upstream. Nitish Kumar placed the demand before Indias prime minister Narendra Modi recently. In a joint statement, leaders of IFC, New York, and IFC, Bangladesh, yesterday said the demand voiced by Nitish Kumar has proved, albeit belatedly, the justification of the stand taken by IFC three decades ago. The communiqu said, Being obstructed by the Farakka Barrage, the Ganges flow causes serious wet season floods in the Indian state of Bihar, but denies normal flow to the rivers Bangladesh part, on which one-third of the population of 16 crore is directly dependent, and the entire population indirectly. Denial of even the minimum flow in the lean season has created a serious environmental disaster in Bangladesh. Water flow to the dried-up distributaries of the Ganges cannot be ensured even after years of capital dredging. The adverse effects caused by the diversion of the rivers flow to the socio-economic and environmental life and livelihoods, biodiversity and the ecosystem in the Ganges-dependent areas in Bangladesh are clearly visible to any visitor, it observed. This year, the opening of all the sluice gates of the Farakka Barrage to reduce the pressure of excessive flooding above the barrage led to serious excessive flooding in the Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj regions of Bangladesh. Abnormal floods created by the onrush of water from the upstream have caused serious damage to crops, homesteads, poultry farms and dwelling houses in Jessore and Khulna regions. Water experts in India have lent support to the demand for decommissioning of the Farakka Barrage as it has not served its purpose, but rather created new problems. Through empirical research, they have determined that the objective of improving the navigability of the Hooghly river by flushing it has not been achieved at all. We welcome the water experts for their candid statement. While reiterating the demand for decommissioning the Farakka Barrage, we also call for removal of structures built on all other common rivers to keep the rivers alive so that they can flow to the sea and render their services to people along their banks, added the communiqu. The countries of the region should join each other in protecting the common rivers by ensuring their basin-wide integrated and sustainable management, the IFC leaders added. Those who issued the statement are: IFC chairman Atiqur Rahman Salu; IFC senior vice-chairman Awlad Hossain Khan; IFC, New Yorks secretary general Syed Tipu Sultan; IFC president Prof. Jasim Uddin Ahmad; IFC senior vice-president Dr SI Khan; IFC, Bangladeshs general secretary Syed Irfanul Bari; and IFC coordinator Mostafa Kamal Majumder.