The Farakka Barrage is located on the Ganga River in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.
New Delhi:
Bangladesh is going through devastating floods throughout the nation attributable to relentless monsoon rain and overflowing rivers. The demise depend from the floods has risen to 23, and greater than 12.4 lakh households are stranded throughout 11 districts within the nation. 57 lakh folks stay remoted and in pressing want of meals, clear water, drugs and dry garments.
In such instances, stories in Bangladesh have claimed that the flooding is precipitated partially as a result of opening of the Farakka barrage in West Bengal, prompting a fact-check by the Authorities of India.
The Ministry of Exterior Affairs on Monday rejected all stories linking the floods in Bangladesh with the opening of Farakka barrage gates in India, calling such stories “faux”.
“We have now seen faux movies, rumours and fear-mongering to create misunderstanding. This needs to be firmly countered with info,” Exterior Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated.
He added that related information is shared with joint river fee officers involved in Bangladesh on a “common and well timed foundation, and it was carried out this time as properly”.
“We have now seen media stories of the opening of Farakka barrage gates that can enable the movement of over 11 lakh cusecs of water downstream of the river in its pure course into the Ganga/Padma river,” Mr Jaiswal stated.
“It is a regular seasonal growth that takes place on account of elevated influx from heavy rainfall within the Ganga river basin catchment areas upstream,” he added.
Explaining intimately, Mr Jaiswal stated, “It’s to be understood that Farakka is simply a barrage and never a dam. Each time the water stage reaches the pond stage, no matter influx comes, that passes. It’s merely a construction to divert 40,000 cusecs of water into the Farakka canal that’s rigorously carried out utilizing a system of gates on the principle Ganga/Padma river, whereas the stability water flows into the principle river to Bangladesh.”
What Is The Farakka Barrage
The Farakka Barrage is located on the Ganga River in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. It’s situated roughly 18 km from the border with Bangladesh.
The development of the Farakka Barrage started in 1962 and was accomplished in 1970 at a price of almost USD 1 billion. The barrage formally commenced operations on April 21, 1975.
The aim of the barrage is to merely divert 40,000 cusecs of water into the Farakka canal and is rigorously carried out utilizing a system of gates on the principle Ganga river, whereas the stability water flows into the principle river which then flows to Bangladesh in its pure course.
The Farakka Barrage Settlement, 1977 And The Ganga Water Treaty, 1996
The Ganga river flows from India into Bangladesh, the place its main distributary is named the Padma river. The river finally drains into Bay of Bengal after a confluence with the river Meghna.
The rationale for India to determine the Farakka barrage was to flush out the silt of Bhagirathi Hoogly river to make sure clean operation of Kolkata port. Bangladesh stated that Ganga is a global river, so the water from it have to be regulated as per a mutual settlement.
The 2 nations, in 1972, established a Joint River Fee (JRC) to barter phrases of the water settlement.
Bangaldesh opposed India’s strategies and in 1977, the then President of Bangladesh, Zia-Ur-Rehman, took the Farakka barrage problem to the United Nations Common Meeting or UNGA.
The UNGA urged him to resolve the difficulty at a bilateral stage.
In November 1977, then Deputy Prime Minister of India, Babu Jagjivan Ram went on an official go to to Bangladesh and signed an settlement to resolve the Farrakka problem.
In 1996, Bangladesh’s Awami League and the brand new authorities signed a contemporary treaty with India – generally known as The Ganga Water Treaty, 1996. The settlement was to share the floor waters on the Farakka Barrage close to the India-Bangladesh border.
Flood-Inclined Bangladesh
An evaluation in 2015 by the World Financial institution Institute estimated that 3.5 million folks in Bangladesh, one of many world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, have been susceptible to annual river flooding. Scientists attribute the exacerbation of such catastrophic occasions to local weather change.