The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP) has said Bangladesh cannot undertake proper water management of its water resources, as it does not have any control over the trans-boundary river flows

"As 54 rivers come into Bangladesh from India, Bangladesh has no control over

the flows entering through these rivers. So how Bangladesh can undertake proper management of its water resources," says a press release of the organisation yesterday.

The press release signed by Quamrul Islam Siddique, President of the BWP regretted on the reported statement of Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty that it is not water availability rather water management is a problem for Bangladesh.

He (Pinak Ranjan) further said that water availability in Bangladesh is more than that in India and other South Asian countries, but the problem here is the management.

The statement said, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty is harping on the same tune like his predecessor Mrs. Veena Sikri that there is no dearth of water in Bangladesh.

"They often refer to per capita water availability in Bangladesh on annual basis. Such statement is totally misleading Bangladesh. The monsoon availability referred to is the result of flood peak in monsoon season, which lasts for four months only," it mentioned justifying that water availability in Bangladesh varies widely between the seasons.

It said according to some researchers, the annual per capita water availability in Bangladesh is 9400 cubic meters. But this figure does not give the real picture as water availability in a country must be considered vis-s-vis its demand.

During the wet monsoon season (June-September) the per capita water availability is 6613 cubic meter against per capita demand of 1001 cubic meter. On the other hand during the dry season between January and April, the per capita water availability is only 563 cubic meters against a per capita demand of 1134 cubic meter during that period, it said.

The press release said during the monsoon season the per capita water availability is more than six times of the demand whereas the per capita water availability in the dry season is less than half of the per capita demand.

"In short, when Bangladesh does not need any more water during the wet monsoon season, it is flooded with water bringing in a lot of miseries to the people and when the country badly needs water during the dry season, there is hardly any water available. This critical water availability situation in the dry season is being further exacerbated by cross boundary withdrawal of precious dry season flow of a significant number of other transboundary rivers, it said.

Mentioning that India has also built barrages across the rivers Teesta, Mahananda, Monu, Khowai, Gumti, Muhuri, Kodla etc in addition to the Farakka Barrage across the Ganges, it said such unilateral dry season water abstraction is telling heavily on the agro-socio-economic condition of large areas in Bangladesh and badly affecting the natural environment of the country.

The flat topography of Bangladesh does not permit any storage of monsoon water for use during dry season.

It referred that before commissioning of Farakka Barrage by India, Bangladesh used to receive no less than 70,000 cusec in the Ganges at Hardinge Bridge even in the driest month. But currently the Ganges flow even after the Ganges Treaty of 1996, dwindles to less than 20,000 cusec in the dry month.

"Such phenomena are giving rise to various adversities in Bangladesh in all spheres of life and living," the press release said.