India’s Ken-Betwa river link project could bring dire consequences for Bangladesh by reducing flow of the river entering the country, observed environmentalists.
They expressed their concerns at a press briefing jointly organised by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon and Bangladesh Environment Network at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital.
They demanded the project, along with 29 other river linking projects across India, to be scrapped, as most of them might turn Bangladesh into a desert by reducing the river flow from the upstream.
The Ken-Betwa link project envisages diversion of surplus waters of Ken basin to water deficit Betwa basin. The project aims to provide irrigation in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in India.
The Padma, one of the major contributory rivers in Bangladesh, will face a shortage of flow if the project sees light. The project would withdraw water from upstream, thus making the land in this country barren, said Prof Khalequzzaman, a geologist of Lock Haven University in the USA.
He said the decision was taken by India unilaterally, without consulting, Bangladesh which is a clear sign of violating the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty signed between the two countries.
According to the article 9 (A) of the treaty, neither of the countries can take an initiative that might harm their rivers.
The cabinet division of India approved the “ambitious” inter linking river projects, beginning with the process of connecting the Ken-Betwa rivers in Madhya Pradesh on January 2, said the speakers.
The government of India has taken the initiative to ensure availability of water in its drier areas by withdrawing water from the rivers. However, as per the National Perspective Plan of India, the project for excavating 30 canals between the rivers was undertaken during 1980s.
Of them, 14 canals from the Himalayan Rivers Zone including the Ganges and Brahmaputra, and 16 from Indian Peninsula region were to be excavated to ensure water flow in the dry season for irrigation and other purposes.
In 2002, the Indian High Court directed its government to finish the project by 2016 in a verdict given at a Public Interest Litigation.
Later In 2012, Indian government took an initiative to implement the “Ken-Betwa” linking project after receiving a green light from the Supreme Court of India.
The HC directive has prompted the Indian government to hurry with the project despite strong protest from green groups both in Bangladesh and India, said the speakers.
Although the incumbent United Progressive Alliance government led by Indian Congress decided to stop the work temporarily as a tactic to avoid controversy in their upcoming national election, the project work was underway, said Prof Khalequzzaman.
The government of Bangladesh should not be convinced by such temporary solution, said Prof M Shahidul Islam of the University of Dhaka.
He urged Bangladeshi government to take proper diplomatic actions so that the Indian government halts the project.
The participation of Bangladesh has to be ensured in any kind of water sharing agreement regarding the Ganges, Brahmaputra or the Meghna, as it is a major stakeholder of the river water, he added.
