Readers’ Forum

Dried Padma at Paksey point

The people of Paksey Union under Ishwardi upazila in the district of Pabna were proud of hilsha fish netted abundantly on the both sides of the world famous Hardinge Bridge. After meeting the local demand, the fish was exported to other districts of the then East Pakistan. But with the opening of the Farakka Barrage on the Indian part of the river Padma in the seventies, the river began to dry and it is now like a canal at Paksey point.
Farakka Barrage is a barrage across the Ganges (Padma) River, located in the Indian state of West Bengal, roughly 16.5 kilometres (10.3 mi) from the international border with Bangladesh near Chapai Nawabganj District. Construction started in 1961 and ended in 1975 at a cost of Rs.156.49 crore ($24 million). Operations began on 21 April in 1975. The barrage is about 2,240 metres (7,350 ft) long. The feeder canal from the barrage to the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River is about 25 miles (40 km) long.
We do not know whether the Padma all over Bangladesh will be restored to its former state, but we shall request the government to build the world opinion that a country cannot unilaterally withdraw water from an international river.
Ameer Hamzah
Dhaka