Ganges treaty expires in December, no concession on water share: Akhtar Hossain
The Ganges water-sharing treaty expires in December. In this situation, the people of Bangladesh will not give up even an inch on the water of the Padma, said Akhtar Hossain MP, member secretary of the National Citizen Party (NCP). In his words, whether it is called the Ganges or the Padma, the water of the Padma is not just water; it is tied to the environment, agriculture and livelihoods of the people of Bangladesh, and even to the question of their existence.
He said this while speaking as chief guest at a roadside meeting and brief rally beside the Rajshahi-Natore highway in Katakhali municipality of Paba upazila, Rajshahi, at around 8:30 pm on Saturday (7 November).
Akhtar Hossain said the people of the Rajshahi region are extremely brave and part of history, because in 1976 Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani started the Long March towards Farakka from this very Rajshahi. That Long March has become relevant again, because the Ganges water-sharing treaty expires this coming December.
He said that before the Farakka Barrage was built, the amount of water that came through the Padma fell by half in the dry season after Farakka was built. The people of Bangladesh have been deprived as a result.
Akhtar Hossain said that in the dry season no water is found in the tributaries and distributaries of the Padma. In the Khulna region of the south-west, saline water from the sea is moving upstream, because the flow of water in the Padma has fallen.
In his words, the blueprint to destroy Bangladesh's agriculture and deprive people of their rights will not be allowed to succeed. He made a humble appeal to the present government that, keeping the interests of the people of Bangladesh in mind, not an inch of concession should be given in the Ganges water-sharing treaty.
Akhtar Hossain said the fair share of water must be secured. He said that if any conspiracy is hatched to deprive Bangladesh of water, to conspire against the agriculture and environment of the people of this country, or to raise any question about the existence of the lives of the people of this country, there will be no delay in joining a Long March programme again, like Maulana Bhashani.
He said that Bangladesh will speak on the international stage, but its share of water will be secured.
Akhtar Hossain said the people of Bangladesh lived through 16 years of terrible suffering. He said that during that time, so many people of this country were disappeared, murdered and locked up in detention centres like Aynaghar; there are countless people who never returned.
