At Gulshan meeting, Rizvi says Padma and Teesta barrages are needed to store monsoon water

BNP acting secretary general Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has stressed building Padma and Teesta barrages so that excess monsoon water can be stored and used in the dry season. He said Bangladesh's rivers were drying up because India was withdrawing water unilaterally through dams and projects upstream.

He made the remarks on Wednesday evening (28 October) as chief guest at a discussion on the role of Padma and Teesta barrages in protecting national water resources, held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Gulshan in the capital.

Rizvi said the rivers dry up in the dry season and Bangladesh then receives less water. In his words, the fall in river water can be seen with the naked eye.

He said if excess monsoon water could be stored, it could be held until the dry season, increasing flow from the Padma into its branch and sub-branch rivers. He said if Bangladesh does not get its fair share at Farakka, water must be managed internally so that the river system stays alive, agriculture is protected and the environmental balance is maintained.

On the Teesta, he said chars can now be seen in the river from Teesta Bridge. The river once filled completely in the monsoon, but that is no longer seen. He also said rainfall in the Rajshahi area had fallen by 30 percent over the past 20-25 years, citing Farakka as one of the influences.

According to Rizvi, various tree and animal species in the Sundarbans face destruction because of Farakka. With no flow in the Padma's branches, seawater cannot be pushed back, so salinity is rising and biodiversity is being affected, he said.

He said Bangladesh is not receiving its fair share. In that case, he said, a Farakka barrage would be a suitable project, because at least monsoon water could be stored and used.

Describing water sharing as a political as well as a technical issue, Rizvi said an international struggle must be built for Bangladesh's fair dues. He asked why the guarantee clause that was in the 1977 agreement did not remain later. Without patriotic urgency in agreements or talks, he said, Bangladesh would be deprived of its fair share.

He said a deficit in receiving Bangladesh's fair share of water had developed since 1996 and there had been no strong protest earlier. He also said water was being withdrawn unilaterally at Gazoldoba upstream on the Teesta.

Rizvi called for coordinated talks with the neighbouring country to be pursued strongly. At the same time, he said, there must also be proposals to keep internal flows right and to store and use monsoon water.

Pointing to the effects of disrupting the Padma's natural flow, he said arsenic was never heard of in the Barendra area in his childhood, but arsenic has now become toxic and is spreading various diseases. Stopping nature's natural flow would also affect the environment and climate, he commented.

Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, MP Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas and MP Selim Reza also spoke at the discussion.