Water crisis and India-Bangladesh relation
Shomit Chowdhury, Dhanmondi, Dhaka
When the Farrakah barrage was built, the government of Bangladesh fell prey to the Indian persuasion that the sharing of water would be a bilateral issue. During the thirty years that have passed since then, the promised bilateralism has proved to be a sham and a one sided affair each and every time, with Bangladesh being deprived of her fair share.Recently, the Indian Government has been developing plans to interconnect several major rivers and canals in India by building permanent structures similar to the Farrakah Barrage. Implementation of this scheme will lower the water levels further in rivers flowing through Bangladesh from India. This, in turn, will aggravate the problems created by the Farrakah Barrage initially, such as the desertification in the northern regions of Bangladesh, and the scarcity of irrigation and navigable waters in the rivers and canals throughout our country. We, as a sovereign nation, have the right to an uninterrupted supply of water of rivers common with India. We should have no qualms in taking our case to international bodies having jurisdiction on such matters in order to ensure that India is prevented from implementing such a monstrosity. I would urge The Daily Star to look into this matter and inform us further and take the lead in mobilising public and political opinion so that we are not duped for the second time.
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