Enormous loss of agro-productivity from withdrawal of common rivers water

A FORMER UN water expert on Saturday made the disclosure that Bangladesh suffers an estimated annual loss of Tk 135 billion in agricultural productivity alone due to India’s unilateral water withdrawal from 54 common rivers in the upstream.
Talking at a seminar in the city as reported in a national English daily, organized by Progotishil Prokousholi O Sthapati Forum, a platform of engineers and architects, the water expert Dr SI Khan said two-thirds of Bangladesh would turn into a desert in the next three decades unless India’s unilateral withdrawal of water from the trans-boundary rivers is stopped. The report quoted him as saying that the government should raise the issue at an international forum if India does not agree to give Bangladesh its legitimate share of Teesta water. But it appears that India is neither paying any heed to Bangladesh’s concerns when the Awami League government is also not willing to bring pressure on India in public nor willing to take the matter to an international forum. This is a highly embarrassing situation and also intriguing to the people of Bangladesh.
The report said the Teesta Barrage Project which would irrigate 8 lakh acres of land in Rangpur, Dinajpur and Lalmonirhat districts has been rendered almost totally useless because of the unilateral withdrawal of water in the upstream by the West Bengal government. We know Bangladesh needs 25,000 cusec of water at the Teesta Barrage point during February-May season but it is getting now 800 cusec at the highest. In recent weeks the flow bottomed down to even 400 to 500 cusec raising nationwide protests. Political parties and socio-environmental groups also held long marches which ended at the Teesta confluence and tried to draw the attention of the Indian government to the severe plight that Bangladesh is facing. Here again the government tried to berate the long march efforts saying it is just an opposition ploy to mislead the people.
Experts tried to figure out the impact of the unilateral withdrawal of water pointing out that not only agriculture but also fisheries, underground aquifers, the river ecology, biodiversity and navigable channels would be severely affected in the absence of water in the river. The experts feared that the costs of agricultural production with groundwater irrigated land may surge to over Tk 6,000 per acre from Tk 450 per acre which is the cost due to river water irrigation. On the other hand, the West Bengal government has doubled its dry season irrigation area to 9 lakh acres using the Teesta water and thus allowing this part of Bangladesh to become a desert.
It is a common knowledge that India is depriving Bangladesh of its due share by ignoring the global convention on common rivers. We hold the view that in the absence of water in the Teesta, Bangladesh may face food shortages and other environmental disasters. The overall cost to the Bangladesh economy may be many folds more and this may in turn not only impact government to government relations, but people to people relations may also suffer—this is not something which Bangladesh wants. We hold the view that India must show its good neighbourly relations with Bangladesh. There is no alternative to friendly coexistence across the border.