%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 17 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 12 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 13 0 R /GS2 14 0 R /GS3 15 0 R /GS4 16 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20251223080555+00'00') /ModDate (D:20251223080555+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2405 >> stream xXMsFW1`| %;cږum9 !18 1ܟ׽ڛ8% 18 0 i׮.v4dJ>O(!WD|g_QRR!7B2ߚJ5h2+z.֊|+_|,L$`)E1ؕVmy)}, $:&vV3 rO/Ew_<|i038'ji6bӍ.дux,EE5VKK n4=pu9̗IQ6d[,˿j7ŽJ%WZiU7H?>kJQgqKGJMq\.VaQG]@r)uSJr4BղK ic'mDUir3cqk#| < A8{ZQV}xwۢOlb>jNEKlO|;7:"Z?`ފORV{D/G$R=1G>}AѮ4KҸ aP?nRֵb/^?ص_cv/ >femZV؆y+-s VFوjq%zB1mMu.ʏOTI䣜D@7 /*hZz P[+ղ$-e~!eХ\" IV7?cKU3;Bka&8.O|N'Ahxӝ|-P+[r8Kc,X/iQ4;fʕ@n|ydQ0Ȉf[IѕJ5֮e';ܰ^k{uG4bOGR'gxr%TehV+UUĢчܶvkp_HY֮XzšsYecڽ@v %үKV"Ho!O5XEq!΂IcݛΘi?*yr~[ L}\d8EdS efʽ 1T PC2 cĸ#FOiQqJo:Z[Q`e;h(ߎ$IdS#Kd#'i,*4n&cqNԦk}q(٪~|25V-Ŭ0]vޗAG1졭;jǢS@g3{ߜd/!'8Spr2(3%S=vWsdCBB=@\6X-Ɠ sZV,2o>KY+4lA0LԕK{Faq\*/ GQt=5;'&I^Ƚ´9CH-|Z7V yS$ bpc̷͉.`3X#}שK4ZPuiZLo1ŗC5=O F,qP__@,áa' _@{Mp$cq8vٴ()Q6K5kQZ约2@xZ뮿fV(-hwЈn{/v/l>vZSc\21u2`Ξ[.搞'6 (Qh1_gczwfpfax(p'V>ze \.hhxP)Ď-\994?;y<`AL(7@14`!k+/co+xC$&~Ck]Ö1zHr94\`4kמ/Ύ9 qHA<=]W0+Ǜhuiydڅ?i2ˉ%I&ȑA4 |r<߲LDso3IBG | ?/&L endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 200 /Height 200 /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /Filter /DCTDecode /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 11857>> stream JFIFC     C   "  tKEc-gWOGݵnu;s]gIKٿ9s nV׊#XJ6ާMm=q64E"twnǪ"q*"B7Ky6Uj|mUjsX|8zo%Ʀw Qj=>yAJ՞Mekjc6^xxxt/G67%F0Y צں+n~?1L tq kE^l8 M>rlF;vhZLvZѽOd/2C ;gƘ&wC mls`0''ԛ!nԧ8kR1kNH{vGBÅ ã{"=]-s[e/H'{?i؂# `D՟|Z,U{]8OՒ7R,x) 8Qp$I^PTS >zQn3!Wz.2{T| ^Kik1` xp<2X&x`+b!05 #%3$24601!"B3ZƐYXW֞kgK253 Av:1~Q8**~88xMIZM2A"蠬LΥNn&9Lk]?|IflEF3$BO!{l^n<* Y^@r+PKKO̝ 3(f,|Fd Gڌ$Xz$KobԲwT;VMl ;T5%.!iq:G< T J-qxjVNOR~2'V-#=;I79R;s19|p9'qNiNbq5V;>L}-yq_଀d'{Nmp$~,'DnEa!viAF TӧB4tyJAgJ?f#UuC>-መ~QD+5`6~ 7Fs7< ßbCY1v" DP&':~_:[K jF6vC {>s7O1̾^f܈{l7)9BH%NL4+$mZ[1l ua/ Ye[bg/=JHV u0[᮷.JCQf' ٍ O2A MseA?އڔ֕+rn L4!_xrR~IC; }Xg6uy8 @D]&h=uԽUƛ)[9gj79塿^Fi/!){.XkmqYV1/ͷQpph9[J%jgmFaJ0',TDowC G^Ue0k&r.*Ú`sB@;4i1:^qymnqX,k aR&حZٰlr<]y  .ĤٍL(jI%9e@Պ\9†f~14dklI ®#(̡2\ [@~UkVy dܞҠA,I*>⶜W}-fz=&K2WH8}d>Gև6Rʦz\s@NUpH"RZnS(d$Y{7gq< KMSZR5J1Döã ϖ|9壓_ GDz~1lknc4eF +HUڸ*YA8ŧ@\-g6K7:y!`@ =͵㑄_^"K@j^guQu_&.ȹRXLS,]VN?yͦAfӈ˯"G5Ib| QȟU3_/CGFdI:'|"ՙN%/4&%!u׌纎 ԰JA{)H9:[bgcZYEʍK:̶}f*e*>IZոkZLN:qTv֤GmiiufKD4 ͤUpp7Z ݰ^8&B υd,%Mw,! 0123Aq"Q$a?6Яv9kۘB,FO!Q" r|E2r:_e>Y^|ȁ D~=m:2Ԭ̹n\1eq9m|v| :;~:mXa*}>;TvIZiaG:!"1AQq #2Bar3C0Rbs$S4c?3_WV=ԉ)"~w XhMq%>\ #^)0%)9-Hz298=on[Jtway4 p;/ G yJUr +.~4Q9->j҃HȠqZ6*VX]i֤`ں*Oox<8Tq٦+}6)9ϙRM/;%]Tqe.T'Gʃ)=~XF?~ ۟{59tuSC1!BwGfDQ]r1&ݼI$xFxdO|{"q?z0Z W%թIV\undFr_Ndi5]Nm^G}LЩ\XKƝwEcğ=Oۭ$ik! 1ƹaXK,0zxPݨQqHY8@~53ZpΣ|rM=3Ѽ":=2H5j?C_ظ6GlQHVMCMqMŏ-._m.o* "wD#k;%~`R@k ڮR܃RHG_OwFp~~~GtH pA+BKE .<%iNx{2 +vlein&RAkn  &ҡ} uTۧB43rvH{c~VTZ $n+yR5JqV#ңOblۯ,p4xդVrNiIK< IZX*[1sI3Aѩ,8 ?8[I:y,YzWqn4)?):~6uцݴT/j3H1BֆRԒJ72"i=clTW>2j ~59$e[ыOuSn/r٠;dP"!LzfG5IytC"kdzP[X5rO=Ǚҽ\ei}Qx)Qx]}effF8=;7:L7S%O3z԰`x|Ё҃O̓xVIշ񒴯|rf%Dq(*2 x|D_派c>MDO/[ Y9wrOȾBҷWO֕weMFD)n :Zx-/UCohmK&\H!I#t5zvYv$sR} r9Xԑʡ'_"miuxԟmm.75)_Vk|vbllQo| !6l]Zk-;ձƮf2<YIߏYXD.-e׍\*h4hu_U wy%e8jfK.)кXB~(7U- i0*Vp4ofwngD#4V|SXH=+b>s7A:\{X_OƯZHqM'4!A un_ClN2U]?Ҷq\L$n֭3ʸҹM"O)WOc[r1>ڗ =ki$HN4S޶唷Rol[aԏl6r(<W]B.Mp-$x<@5v'VB/\7(ӏ,VȀIyҶkf1kJiwmkg 1@*y9F7w^h..!e խ̯ea[&%k2s5m9XW t~*.G[K L"} jLo[WE Ghd'@PhGA u&,ɜZ#ԤȦV5j?[NLIJP) []ǎۘ_?0HS܍45R},/|S1 qқ VZ26Zdj<s7A|3]N73/ F4vK ;5"vLA&p-OvwJYgI120]X,)%n'c{{3~ ļ"\MMV}d0駒F)JDVR ZmrCJTo i#" $,&jOc3 OZ֭PTR)Uh6"2Yt\]ү-%GY`Ej?AoKQPi:Bɋ{0F+|¥r55>mEkM"'^5!:23v`cR'`Ni Bt5tOLҏ7B7r#Vkz3*ޮ Z̩4ݏ[P 0Kªz5iPny'mU}rcg`sݏLoC'WWxKNFVI8hއ奋C;1vRћ]lKA ftgRNy1MxX1*f&+n`ljvc/xE.TG~T7׉l/Ņ0ǘqHS}jVTRzX&X[PyCo68`B柔wl$i-rt,[X qF%(ݭRFPXV&hxZ9U˶«Mw6 @aԼp@kD`ʭDc`{%wb__Mbw ^ @jg(n@ڐR2Λc$ye5!))5eR[.(o)L!4wtSOg6/єP ]1%ySj`GU_1@68i|I9 ^ڥvMN05e$*ɺ wb]_ycͺź NJqz j|R<`(2I>Tn_Q/,Jw ߊzﱫ"+G>Me#ϲ;Q*=׵&R ‰|ÿ5t-n؈kBT gpKX$y=g CpC+.=k_֓YH"^-_cԎʮ c={@cDOgtc.٤1,$, lDph$s\VWU,>_N.] hm~bcܛ$J hv0-- 0 .&WCZAQnb_ECHGG!=,3\exr?#v P24 )&j? Ek#YO<[,XOBSõx=f @ Lb׍&?E+o F2(\S@yQ0|sG !c%/H^K1G8W ~?al /q:%]F<%V/vF4\R0b_`X ֌0@N?q)W<p{%2?[CM9{]FnqghC0Ϸ"! 1A0Qaq?Day߮&44\`.)oKg9[6hLaR<:1꺭/|C-gb1DK:|cfsUd^fUkn2iv0zLzor@fm 9`۴x&!1AQaq ?XQ$𲪏be?} 21U {DPB^(:Vv!F p3 $,ʀK(7!_q.3SRr5OcYuXp0 e\KKGANbQ`Y}^xbYy"0CU˟``FuÉP-n6{ࠉ'zQ|ef e(ᘻ!"T 2=H98%c}9AT)֒gRG "R3vc^&c"THq@=9rc .+M-nXٙ%J*``)~q} 1LWCP {#.;BEt_Oq4(pZ["^Jez5C淚u5J"W4QEΘCG K?#m`S`1ZDlq$/E˶~nt,WEBh凜K̬EbD>d8ӻ7%yPd:븝ϓ[k8RN<6X0TH4İ(U HC8.ĩ_yHjRf*0ʳҚ/wyneY1iL @WMߴaKQ6C_EdG\8fT]B"(\$trȢ%$XL@e7eBCeX胩r[J.̶dQD ~ סHP>GBGTbMR:x)bVh&0e3w3ҙA! :rt͵bgN#-k-Tr̕9TBIhzq:n tYxU5k{Lq //xŠJz]/`URVzhGu-B\QԮ#)s1тr&^"OÏp e F@ۃL 5La_H=s-wgJn0 HUѼmq.q0gWg _0E%a4Yqhc⎇X[xsVe*zj^EAh{AM|@vq5P,hT-]q5.L8R%6LEce[ BQ؋lHW(Lw] .kV <-7#_ݳA4̕h^E*uʉ!]HK]ܢ{6fW},:jq i&.F~5 Q0T+#`jK)b*-c)S"eƐ#!TtxmSacb3{DřqTfPL}6l-uPAv: DЋrbx!q@-S_qLnOf&s#NE3`*5|d'8:*l=墱,#2L8.SRlzg )/xoP[@7%)H/GRMꀶUF N$v;_jnq+Oާz TeyR(j=ňƂp`VXl6+iD.]~ U )7Rw{n\,2d9{͏ZtUkr_|ǒE_vYe[Y(t-0H krPjA[5 Pc ƱU*7(Ytm㖣Q[URN NbFfGXxE,ex@Jhv6`mNJCR+W\ cEqYu+5wc4hX˦%hjMEb}յ1mAvUwkHEXlP>pTf$騫0i*X _hU$"sT*?I55 @3|WMIިN=qIJc2ZpX lxzQ;Vۣlp vV{f'30+|xU,6ܥH,jħL(р[LC>Gؤb-Y7_6^w ۄxJqWP xG*\ endstream endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 595.280 841.890] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 18 0 R >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 747 >> stream xTn0+ CRc8nPDmEE[eҥh/zXRQhaV\J(0^ڹJk€DfpqBPK#E%3i.J{[hz6/*(r}i,dLnuY#626WH,3|`IV%3,1b-3$Ej_QªǖPxBBզfjKIxdBi:{De i"UNX@8hWkCԵF0ŭ+6a`Y{L3hbWE;]Ib.cojY)HjӼUY!:D1GiF.k\6uLs6x鉸$GH(ޡħ+Nן[@"Na  rDSVKݐ܇Fċ&r``dzfۇ,I!Ow=`,"1%ۍu R/pشY U%V4(h0T{R#u#(f[ڹ<88dff90250cc1b40538ff197fa539e3b>] >> startxref 16794 %%EOF [BEN-NY-NJ-CT] Join the demand for demolition of Farakka barrage – Bangladesh Environment Network

[BEN-NY-NJ-CT] Join the demand for demolition of Farakka barrage

Join the demand for demolition of the Farakka barrage
—————————————————————————

BEN welcomes the demand by Indian political leaders and river experts to demolish the Farakka barrage. Among the politicians, Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Bihar, has been making this demand for quite some time now. Recently, he has raised this demand formally with the Indian central government.

Many prominent Indian river experts have now joined Nitish Kumar in demanding the demolition of Farakka. Among them is the Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh, also known as Waterman, who in the international seminar on “Incessant Ganga” organized by Bihar’s water resources department in Patna in February, 2017, said, “Farakka is inauspicious (ashubh) for Bihar. It is a curse (abhishap) which needs to be removed. Because unless and until we remove it, we cannot move forward” (The Hindu, February 27, 2017).
In the same seminar, Himagshu Thakkar, the coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, River and People, New Delhi, urged for urgent review of the Farakka barrage, which, in his view,  had failed to fulfill any of the purpose — irrigation, hydro-electric power, water supply — of the barrage for which it was built (The Hindu, February 27, 2017).
Of course, the Indian politicians and river experts are demanding demolition of Farakka not because of concerns for Bangladesh. They are motivated primarily by the damage it has done and is doing to India itself. In particular, Farakka has led to sedimentation of the riverbed, causing extensive flooding and riverbank erosion in BIhar.
Be that as may, BEN welcomes the current recognition by Indian politicians and experts that Farakka has failed to deliver on its professed goals (such as desiltation of the Kolkata port) and instead has become a major problem for India itself.
Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN), Bangladesh Poribesh ANdolon (BAPA) and many other organizations in Bangladesh have been calling for demolition of Farakka barrage for a long time now. In recent years, they made this demand very forcefully in presence of top Indian water experts and policymakers during the International Conference on Regional Cooperation on Transboundary Rivers (ICRCTR) held in Dhaka on 2004. Experience has vindicated their position, and it is now beyond doubt that Farakka is a menace to both the downstream country of Bangladesh and India itself.
BEN thinks that the government of Bangladesh should also raise formally with the Indian government the demand for demolition of Farakka, as well as Gajoldoba and other such river intervening and diversionary structures.
In this regard, BEN again urges the Bangladesh government to sign and ratify immediately the 1997 UN Convention on Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses, which can provide a legal basis for Bangladesh’s demand, because this Convention upholds the lower riparian countries’ right to historical and customary use of the river flows and prohibits upper riparian countries from construction of river intervening structures without the consent of lower riparian countries.
BEN also urges Bangladesh government to take lessons from the Farakka experience in deciding about the proposed Ganges barrage to be built inside Bangladesh. Like Farakka, this barrage, if built, will also cause upstream riverbed aggradation leading to increased flooding and riverbank erosion. There is no doubt that flows of the rivers of southeast Bangladesh need to be increased. The true solution of this problem however lies in demolition of Farakkka and other diversionary barrages, so that the full natural flow of the Ganges can be restored. This will in turn restore the flows of the rivers of the southeast Bangladesh.
BEN hopes that the government of Bangladesh will take note of the changed context, take the principled position of Open approach to rivers, sign the 1997 UN convention, and ask the Indian government to remove the Farakka and other river diversionary barrages without further delay.
Razia Nazmi
+ posts

Leave a Comment

© 2025 Bangladesh Environment Network