After a new government was installed in Bangladesh through the February election, the executive committee of the country’s National Economic Council (Ecnec), the highest government body responsible for the final approval and monitoring of major development projects, was reconstituted late last month. This week it is set to hold its first meeting.
One reason why the people concerned are all looking forward to the upcoming Ecnec meeting is the agenda touted to be high on the country’s water security. There are expectations that some projects would get nods -- which would have direct bearings on re-excavating derelict rivers and increase piped water supply to Dhaka and Khulna.
But officials knowledgeable to the expected proceedings of the April 6 meeting gave hints that Bangladesh’s much-touted Padma Barrage project is getting fresh blood after six decades of hibernation since the conceiving of the idea back in 1960s -- when India had gone ahead with the Farakka Barrage.
When the Farakka Barrage -- a 2,240-metre-long structure on the Ganges River, located near the Bangladesh border, in West Bengal, India, was finally opened in 1975 to divert water into the Hooghly River to keep Kolkata Port operational, it stirred significant controversy over water sharing, impacting downstream flows and environmental conditions in Bangladesh.
Ever since Bangladesh started toying with the idea of a Padma Barrage (previously, Ganges Barrage), it went through several phases of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies over the past four decades.
As late as in 2017, the then government in Bangladesh shelved its implementation process after a feasibility was already done selecting Pangsha in Rajbari as the prospective site for the barrage project.
The reasons cited then to halt the project was unexplained design flaw and perceived threat of riverbed siltation, waterlogging, and riverbank erosion upstream.
The government at the time also expressed a preference for developing the project as a joint venture with India to ensure uninterrupted natural flows and mutual benefits during dry seasons.
Though the original Pangsha site project was scrapped then, the idea was later integrated into the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 as a priority scheme, with expected design changes and a focus on alternative storage sites for monsoon flows.
Now that the people concerned with the Ecnec agenda expect the Padma Barrage project to be tabled before the meeting this week, many are considering it to be a potential game-changer for Bangladesh, specifically for its southwestern and northwestern regions.
While the project has been discussed for over 60 years, recent moves by the interim government and political commitments from major parties like the BNP have brought it back to the forefront as a critical infrastructure goal.
The barrage is designed to address several long-standing environmental and economic crises including combating salinity, ensuring water security, boosting farm productivity, restoring water systems, and better navigation, among others.
The development comes also at a very critical time when a 30-year water sharing deal on Ganges between Bangladesh and India reaches its terminal year in 2026 and it demands for a renegotiation and extension within this year between the two South Asian neighbours.
If Padma Barrage gets Ecnec approval, it’s expected to be completed in seven years. Once the barrage is constructed, it is expected to store monsoon water and release it during the dry season, thereby pushing back salt-water intrusion from the Bay of Bengal.
Currently, an increased level of salinity is blamed for Bangladesh’s low farm productivity in its south and southwestern ecosystems.
The barrage, once built, is expected to provide year-round water supply to approximately one-third of Bangladesh's population across many southern districts. It could improve irrigation for nearly two million hectares of land, significantly increasing food security.
Padma barrage would help revive several major distributaries, such as Gorai and Madhumati, which are currently getting dried up and suffering from heavy sedimentation in winter.
The barrage is also viewed as a lifeline for the Sundarbans, helping to preserve the world's largest mangrove forest by ensuring a steady flow of freshwater. Plans also include generating hydroelectricity and improving river navigability for trade.
Amidst the general upbeat surrounding the prospect of this project, experts also sounded some cautionary measures that our policy planners need to take into due consideration.
They say the construction of such a large infrastructure carries risks as well. Erosion upstream and sediment accumulation downstream could raise riverbeds, as observed with India's Farakka Barrage.
Careful consideration of morphological, environmental, and ecological impacts, combined with advanced design and technology, can substantially reduce these risks.
Reaz Ahmad is Editor, Dhaka Tribune.
