At least six crore people across Bangladesh are facing an acute irrigation and water crisis due to an arbitrary withdrawal of river water upstream across the border by India, river experts and researchers said at a press conference in Rajshahi on Thursday.
The press conference was organised in Rajshahi city by the committee observing the 49th anniversary of the historic Farakka Long March, commemorating the 1976 movement led by Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani.
River researcher Mahbub Siddiqui, convener of the organising committee, presented findings while freedom fighter and July-36 Parishad convener Mahmud Jamal Quaderi were present among others.
Siddiqui said that approximately two crore people in the northern region and four crore聽 in the southern and central regions are adversely affected by the water scarcity due to India鈥檚 arbitrary withdrawal of upstream water across the border.
鈥楧ue to the water scarcity, irrigation is severely hampered in 65 per cent of the Ganges-Kobadak Project area鈥�, he said, adding that the reduced freshwater flow has led to increased salinity in the southern regions, damaging soil fertility and threatening agricultural productivity.
The river researcher said that the arbitrary withdrawal of Ganges River water through the Farakka Barrage, located 18 kilometers upstream of the India-Bangladesh border, has also resulted in a severe groundwater depilation in the Barind Tract region.
鈥楶articularly in the high Barind area, 100 per cent of the deep tube wells are now out of operation while 21 per cent of the shallow tube wells used for irrigation are defunct,鈥� he said.
鈥楾he presence of arsenic in groundwater has made tube well water non-potable in many north and northwest districts,鈥� Siddiqui said, adding that the increased salinity in the greater Khulna region has reduced traditional rice production, and even the Sundarbans鈥� biodiversity is now at risk due to the declining freshwater inflows.
Siddiqui recounted that the 1977 Ganges water-sharing agreement, signed after the Long March, compelled India to recognise the Ganges as an international river and guaranteed 34,500 cusecs of water to Bangladesh during the dry season.
However, a 1982 memorandum removed the clause that had ensured 80 per cent of Bangladesh鈥檚 share of water during the dry season. Efforts to bring Nepal into the Joint Rivers Commission have also failed, allegedly due to Indian opposition, he said.
鈥業ndia now diverts Ganges water at over 400 points across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal through massive infrastructure projects, including the Upper, Middle, and Lower Ganga Canals,鈥� Siddique said, adding that the Ganges has become a seasonally dead river in Bangladesh.
The river researcher said that major aquatic species like river dolphins, gharial crocodiles, and even much of hilsas have disappeared from the Padma.
鈥楽ince 1984, the Rajshahi segment of the river has lost 50 per cent of its width, 17.8 per cent of its depth, and 26.2 per cent of its flow, while freshwater availability has declined in the Sundarbans by 90 per cent,鈥� he added.
With the 1996 Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty set to expire in 2026, Mahbub called for a full review of the treaty and inclusion of guarantee clauses similar to the 1977 deal in the future treaties.
He also emphasised the expansion of the Joint Rivers Commission to include in it聽 Nepal, an update of the official transboundary river number 鈥� believed to be nearly three times the current 54 鈥� and a provision for forming an expert committee to assess the impact of India鈥檚 river interlinking project for possible international legal action.
He further proposed a UN- or World Bank-supervised regional water commission involving Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and Myanmar to ensure a fair water distribution and ecological protection.
