Bangladesh Invites Indian Investment in
Ganges Barrage Project.
Bangladesh is keen to have India as a stakeholder in the proposed
Ganges Barrage project. If it is
is constructed, the
barrage will divert water into a 165 kilometre-long reservoir with a capacity of up to 2.9 billion cubic litres of water.Oct 12, 2016.
Ganges Barrage Project
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ganges and Brahmaputra
The
Ganges Barrage Project is a proposed project in
Bangladesh to hold back rain water of the
monsoon season because of the periodic drying up of the
Ganges River in Bangladesh due to the
Farakka Barrage.
Contents
[
1Location
Location[edit]
It would be located within
Pangsha Upazila in
Rajbari District, Bangladesh.
[1]
Cost of construction[edit]
The costs of construction is estimated to be approximately 4 billion
USD (৳31,414 crore).
[1]
Water retention[edit]
It will be designed to retain about 2.90 trillion litres (2,350,000 acre·ft) of water.[2] The full reservoir level is 12.5 m above the spillway sill level of the barrage with pond area of 625 square km.[3]
Benefits[edit]
The south-western region of Bangladesh would benefit greatly from this project from generating about 100 megawatts (130,000 hp) of electricity[4] and 250,000 metric tons (250,000 long tons; 280,000 short tons) of fish.[1]
When this barrage project designed and constructed such that its back waters at its full reservoir level (FRL) extends in to Indian territory and there is provision to draw water in to the reservoir by gravity or pumping from the nearby Bramhaputra river, India would also become beneficiary of this project by pumping the transferred Bramhaputra river water via this reservoir in to the Hoogly river during the insufficient flows in the Ganga river at Farakka barrage.[5][6]
History[edit]
Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton, a consulting firm from New York, proposed the then
Pakistan government in 1963 to construct a counter barrage to hold water in the monsoon and supply it to the Gorai and other rivers in the lean period.
[7]
Alternate project[edit]
The Ganges Barrage Project would submerge nearly 625 km2 scarce fertile land in a densely populated area. However, an alternate project to serve this project goals can be jointly executed by Bangladesh and India with drastic reduction in land submergence and more utility. Bangladesh would get the needed continuous water supply through a gravity canal from Farakka barrage linking to the south western rivers of Bangladesh. Bangladesh would permit India to construct a gravity inter link canal with shipping facility between Farakka and a new barrage at
Goalpara in India to transfer Brahmaputra river water in to Ganga river.[
citation needed]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Karim, Mohosinul (12 May 2014). "PM for involvement of India with Ganges Barrage Project". Dhaka Tribune.
- Jump up^ Roy, Pinaki; Shuvo, Mokammel (24 March 2014). "Tender by this year". The Daily Star.
- Jump up^ "Development of operation rule of proposed Ganges barrage using mathematical model". Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- Jump up^ Roy, Pinaki (24 July 2013). "Ganges Barrage project goes slow". The Daily Star.
- Jump up^ "Bangladesh seeks Indian cooperation to build $4 billion Ganges barrage". Retrieved 14 February 2016.
- Jump up^ "Bangladesh seeks Indian cooperation on ten more shared rivers". Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- Jump up^ Haque, M. Inamul. "The Ganga Barrage Project". academia.edu.
Coordinates:
23.8743°N 89.4117°E
India News
What's Ganges barrage project and why Bangladesh wants India to be a stakeholder
http://www.firstpost.com/world/what...-wants-india-to-be-a-stakeholder-3044408.html
Oct 10, 2016 21:23 IST
#Bangladesh #Barrage project #Dhaka #Ganges #Narendra Modi #NewsTracker #Sheikh Hasina
- Bangladesh is keen to have India as a "stakeholder" in the proposed USD 4 billion Ganges barrage project and a team from India's water resources ministry will soon visit Dhaka to hold talks in this regard, a senior minister has said.
State Minister for Water Resources Nazrul Islam said two Chinese firms were keen to fully finance the project and even Japan was willing to fund at least USD 2 billion.
"But because the Ganges flows into Bangladesh from India, we take a long-term view of the project and our prime minister is keen to get India into it," he told
bdnews24.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka on 06 June 2015. Image courtesy PIB
He said a team from India's water resources ministry will soon visit Dhaka to hold discussions on the barrage project.
"The issue was raised during Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka last year. He showed much interest and Indian officials later asked for the project details which we have provided," Islam said.
He said funding was not a problem for the project.
"Two Chinese companies have offered full finance while the Japanese have said they can put in half the project cost and we can manage the rest, but it makes long-term sense to have India involved as the Ganges flow into Bangladesh from India," Islam said.
The Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina also seems keen to have New Delhi on board. However, she is likely to convey her decision to her PM
Narendra Modi when they meet in Goa on 16-17 October on the sidelines of Brics summit,
reportsThe Economic Times.
High cost, phenomenal capacity
The Ganges barrage will be a 165-kilometre long reservoir running from Rajbari to Chapainawabganj districts, with a depth of 12.5 metres.
It will hold a phenomenal 2.9 billion cubic litres and cost Tk 314 billion (approximately USD 4 billion). The barrage will retain the water of the trans-boundary river Ganga, known as the Padma in Bangladesh, during the monsoon and feed small rivers during the lean season.
This will help Bangladesh flush the small rivers and reduce salinity, a major threat to public health and agriculture in the country's southwest.
Islam sought to allay fears of flooding on the Indian side of the Ganges. "The project has provided for allocations for upgrading and raising embankments on the Indian side to avoid any flooding," he said.
Salinity problem
Much of Bangladesh’s salinity problem seems to be linked to the Farakka barrage situated in West Bengal. After the construction of the barrage there was a drop in the river Padma, which resulted in increased soil salinity southwest of Bangladesh, affecting 6,200 hectares of farmland, reports The Third Pole.
The report states that after the signing of the Ganga Waters treaty between India and Bangladesh in 1996, Bangladesh has received water during the extreme dry season, but the damaged land couldn't be undone.
Water expert Prof Ainun Nishat said the Ganges Barrage Project should be implemented as soon as possible to protect the Bangladesh's southwestern region, including the Sundarbans, reports The Daily Star.
The proposed project has a reservoir to augment the flow of water and its equal distribution over the Ganges dependent area. The project will meet the demand for agriculture, fisheries, ecosystems and navigation, experts and officials told The Daily Star.
With inputs from agencies
First Published On : Oct 10, 2016 21:23 IST
Ganges barrage project to be a blessing for Bangladesh
http://newstoday.com.bd/index.php?option=details&news_id=2406817&date=2015-03-29
The proposed Ganges Barrage Project will be a blessing for Bangladesh since it is a low riparian area now faces water-related problems for long, according to experts, reports UNB.
Noted water expert Prof Ainun Nishat said the Ganges Barrage Project should be implemented as soon as possible to protect the country's southwestern region, including the world's largest mangrove forest Sundarbans from salinity intrusion. He suggested applying innovative method in implementing the proposed Ganges Barrage Project unlike the one being followed in the Teesat Barrage and restoring all dying rivers in the region through it.
The government has already completed the feasibility study and design of the long-cherished proposed 2.1 km-long Ganges Barrage Project at Pangsha of Rajbari district, around 98 kilometers downstream from the Farakka Barrage built on the common Ganges River in the Paschimbanga state of India.
The proposed project will have a reservoir for flow augmentation of water and its equitable distribution both dry and wet season over the Ganges dependent area. The project will meet the demand of the Ganges water for agriculture, fisheries, ecosystems and navigation, experts and officials say.
Director (water resources) of Dhaka-based Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) M Sarfaraz Wahed said Bangladesh will be benefited from the project in all aspects - salinity will be reduced considerably and all dead rivers of the region will be recharged after implementation of the project. He said the Gorai river system with its augmented flow will provide an improved navigational route to and from the country's second seaport,
Mongla. Environmental expert Dr Atiq Rahman said the Ganges Barrage is a long-standing project which was discussed in last several decades. "Obviously, Bangladesh will be benefited from the barrage project, but it's urgent to conduct vigorous environmental, social and climate impact assessments before implementation of the project," he said. Official sources said the increased water flow through the Hisna-Mathabhanga, Gorai-Modhumati and Chandana- Barasia systems will provide the required flow for the ecosystem and reduce environmental degradation in the Ganges dependent area.
The surface water salinity will be reduced due to increased upstream water flow. About US$ 4 billion is needed to implement the Ganges Barrage Project, but the annual incremental benefit of the project will be Tk 7,340 crore, which means the cost of barrage project will be returned within five years, they claim.
According to the feasibility study, once the project is implemented, agricultural production in the Ganges dependent area will be increased while additional paddy production would be about 26 lakh metric tonnes minimising the crop damage area and loss of paddy significantly. Additional fish production would be about 2.4 lakh metric tonnes.
The increased upstream water flow will reduce the rate of siltation in the river systems in the Southwest region. About 33 percent area of the Sundarbans would become moderately low saline zones and about 11, 000 hectares of land in the Sundarbans would become very low salinity zone.
About benefits of the project, Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud said agricultural production will increase in the region and its one-third of population will be benefited economically and environmentally from the project. He said Bangladesh will not face any trouble in getting equity share of the trans-boundary river water as per the Ganges Water Treaty signed between Bangladesh and India in 1996.
In 1975, India constructed the Farakka Barrage across the common Ganges River to divert 40,000 cusec water into the Bhahgirathi-Hoogly River in Paschimbanga for flushing out the sediment deposition from the Kolkata harbour, which adversely affects the lower riparian area Bangladesh.
Posted : 04 Apr, 2015 00:00:00 AA-A+
Ganges barrage project in hibernation for 50 years
Helal Uddin Ahmed
http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/04/87446
Bangladesh is a country dependent on agriculture. The water resources sector in the country has been making considerable contribution to agriculture through implementation of projects in areas of irrigation, flood control, drainage, prevention of river erosion and environmental conservation projects. Since its inception, one of the foremost projects identified by the Water Development Board for proper water management in the country has been the Ganges Barrage Project.
The flow of the river Ganges (known as Padma in Bangladesh part) decreased in the downstream areas of the lower riparian country ever since the commissioning of the Farakka Barrage by India in the mid-1970s. As a result, it had a negative impact on the agriculture, fisheries, forestry, navigation and environment of south-western Bangladesh. For overcoming this impact, the need for a Ganges (Padma) Barrage in Bangladesh part is being most acutely felt now. A number of feasibility studies for this proposed barrage were conducted in Bangladesh over the past five decades. The latest study was finalised and submitted to the government in 2012.
The findings of this study carried out through a multidimensional analysis show that the project is very much viable and implementable when considered in terms of economic, technical, social and environmental criteria. Around Taka 320 billion would be needed to implement the project and the cost can be recouped within five years. Delay in implementing this much-trumpeted project would only lead to cost escalation as well as exacerbation of the negative impacts of Farakka Barrage (Md Nure Helal, paper presented at the 19th Biennial Conference of the Bangladesh Economic Association, January 2015).
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly shown interest in implementation of the project preferably in Rajbari district by naming it as the 'Padma Barrage'. She has also instructed the concerned officials to take up the matter with India and seek the neighbour's cooperation and support for implementation of the project.
Bangladesh is situated on a delta carved by the rivers Ganges (Padma), Brahmaputra and Meghna. The south-western region of the country comprising 37 per cent of its land area is dependent on the river Padma. The total length of the river Ganges is 46,000 kilometres, of which 240 kilometres fall inside Bangladesh. After emerging from the Himalayas, the river enters Bangladesh through Jangipur of Rajshahi district and ultimately lands in the Bay of Bengal. The areas dependent on the waters of the Ganges in Bangladesh total around 46,000 square kilometres.
Due to the commissioning of the Farakka Barrage by India in the mid-1970s, the flow of the Padma decreased drastically and agriculture, fisheries, forestry, navigation and household usages of water were seriously hampered. Expansion of industries was obstructed and the Sundarbans - the largest mangrove forest in the world - is facing unprecedented threat due to decrease in the flow of river water and increase in salinity.
The condition of the river Gorai - a tributary of the Padma as well as its distributaries named Kumar, Kalindi, Dakua etc. also underwent terrible deterioration in recent years. There is, therefore, an urgent need for constructing a barrage on the river Padma for integrated river-water management in the greater districts of Rajshahi, Pabna, Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna, Faridpur and Barisal in order to facilitate economic growth and poverty alleviation in the south-western region.
The feasibility studies conducted for the project identified a few probable places between the Hardinge Bridge and the confluence of the Padma-Jamuna for constructing the barrage. A pre-feasibility study was conducted by WARPO in the earlier part of the decade of 2000 for determining the available options. By analysing river morphology through that study, two probable sites were fixed at Thakurbari of Kushtia district and Pangsha of Rajbari. The latest feasibility study recommended Pangsha of Rajbari as the site of the barrage (Md. Nure Helal, BEA, 2015).
An agreement was signed by the Water Development Board and DDC Ltd. for carrying out a feasibility study and detailed design for the Ganges Barrage project in May 2009. Later, they were also assigned the task of preparing land acquisition and resettlement action plans. The consultant submitted the final feasibility study in September 2012. At present, the detailed design as well as land acquisition and resettlement action plans awaiting approval. A project proposal titled 'Ganges Barrage Project' has already been submitted to the Planning Commission via the Ministry of Water Resources by the Water Development Board. A primary development project proposal (PDPP) has also been submitted to the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance for exploring external collaborations.
The main objectives of the Barrage are:
l Providing irrigation to 4.69 million hectares (net 2.88 million hectares) in the catchment areas of 26 districts in the regions of Kushtia, Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, Pabna and Rajshahi.
l Taking measures for best utilisation of water received by Bangladesh under the terms of the Ganges Water-sharing Treaty signed with India in 1996.
l Socio-economic development of Bangladesh through expansion of livelihood opportunities and improvement of living standard for one-third of the country's population living in the catchment areas of the Ganges and its tributaries.
l Increasing the flow and navigability of the Ganges-dependent rivers and ensuring environmental balance.
l Installing power and gas lines over the Ganges Barrage.
l Construction of important projects in the Ganges-dependent areas and reduction of their maintenance expenditure.
l Safeguarding the forestry resources and bio-diversity of the Sundarbans.
l Conservation and expansion of marine fisheries.
l Reducing widespread water-logging problem of polders in the coastal region.
l Reducing arsenic contamination and salinity of underground water.
l Building a direct and fast communication cum transport system between the northern and south-western regions of the country.
The project-related activities would encompass 164 upazilas in 26 districts of four divisions. The districts are Bagerhat, Chuadanga, Jessore, Jhenidah, Khulna, Kushtia, Magura, Meherpur, Narail, Satkhira, Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, Shariatpur, Naogaon, Natore, Nawabganj, Pabna, Rajbari, Barguna, Bhola, Jhalkathi, Patuakhali and Pirojpur.
FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Financial and economic analysis of the proposed Padma (Ganges) Barrage project shows that the rate of return is highly positive. The net present value of the project would be Taka 80.42 billion in economic terms and Taka 51.21 billion based on financial criteria. A cost-benefit analysis yields the ratios of 1:1.53, and 1:1.261 in economic and financial terms respectively. The average crop intensity in the project area would rise by 10 per cent to reach 204 per cent from the current 194 per cent.
SITE SELECTION: Many studies were conducted in the past for constructing a barrage on the Padma River for ensuring adequate water-flow in the rivers of the country's south-western region. These studies were conducted in 1961, 1963, 1969, 1983 and 2001.
The consulting firm 'Tibbett, Abbott, McCarthy, Stratton' (TAMS) of New York, the USA was the first to recommend construction of the barrage 3 kilometres downstream from the point of origin of the Gorai river in 1963.
But the project could not be implemented then due to political tension between the Pakistani and the Indian governments. After independence, the site of the project was prescribed at 4 kilometres downstream of Hardinge Bridge (Pakshi railway bridge). But because of the black water effect in the downstream up to the Indian border, the proposed site was later shifted to a point near Habashpur in Rajbari district.
The writer is a senior civil servant and former editor of Bangladesh Quarterly.
hahmed1960@gmail.com
Why Bangladesh needs the Ganges Barrage
Barrister Harun ur Rashid
Thursday, July 16th, 2015
http://www.dhakacourier.com.bd/why-bangladesh-needs-the-ganges-barrage/
Very few people in Bangladesh are aware of the importance of the Ganges Barrages in Bangladesh while they are aware of the adverse effects of the Farakka Barrage in the country. Although the project was reportedly considered in 1978, the Hasina government revived it and wanted support from India to build it on the down stream of the Ganges in Bangladesh as it might affect adversely Indian territory.
The Ganges river system in Bangladesh supports some 40 million people and the Ganges- dependent area roughly constitutes 37% of the total land area in Bangladesh. The river plays crucial role in maintaining ecological balance of the largest mangrove in the world, Sunderbans of Bangladesh.
The construction of Farakka Barrage by India at 18 km. from the Bangladesh border has been an ill-conceived project in 1961 and the then Irrigation Engineer of West Bengal Kapil Banerjee opposed it for diverting huge quantities of water from the Ganges to flush the silt of the Hooghly River to save the Kolkata port and he eventually lost his job.
Later, Indian water experts attending a seminar in Kathmandu in 2004 held that Kapil Banerjee was right because it caused devastating effects on the flow of the Ganges in Bangladesh (known as Padma in Bangladesh) but also badly affected crops in the vast areas of West Bengal including flooding. Recently Direndranath Sambhu M.P of Indian Parliament reportedly confirmed the damage done to West Bengal due to the Farakka Barrage.
It is noted that India put the Farakka Barrage in operation in 1975 against the letter and spirit of the Joint Declaration of the two Prime Ministers of 16th May, 1974 that the Farakka Barrage would not be commissioned unless the two sides would “arrive at a mutually acceptable allocation of water available during the periods of minimum flow in the Ganges” The water of the Ganges was not shared between the two countries in 1975.
It was for the first time in 1977 that the Ganges water was shared between Bangladesh and India and the Agreement was for a period of five years. After the expiry of the Agreement India did not renew it, although there was a provision that the 1977 Agreement could be extended further for a specified period by mutual agreement in the light of the review referred to the Agreement (Article 15 of the Agreement). It is to be noted that in the Agreement, there was a guaranteed share of water of the Ganges for Bangladesh.
After the expiry of the 1977 Agreement, India preferred to signing Memorandum of Understanding, not Agreement (MOU) in 1982 for a period of 2 years only. The MOU was extended for three consecutive terms and ended in 1988. Thereafter there was no sharing of waters of the Ganges either through Agreement or MOU.
Thereafter after a gap of 8 years, the 1996 the Ganges Water Agreement was concluded for 30 years. It is to be noted that the share of water of Bangladesh takes place only during the dry season and the sharing of waters is based on 10-day period average availability of water at Farakka ( on the basis of 40 years average water available at Farakka). . It is not the sharing of total flow of waters of the Ganges.
Due to diversion of huge quantities of water from Farakka Barrage, the Gorai River in Bangladesh is covered with silt at Kumarkhali Railway bridge because the flow of the river towards Bangladesh drops suddenly in October, leading to silting up the off-take of Gorai River. Furthermore according to water experts, 123 rivers in Bangladesh have died around the area.
Ganges Barrage
To offset the adverse effects of the Farakka Barrage, in 1963, an American consultancy firm Tippetts Abbett McCarthy Stratton (TAMS) proposed constructing the Ganges Barrage at a location 3 km downstream of the Gorai River.
In 1981 the proposed site was reportedly changed to a location 4 km downstream of Pakshey Railway Bridge (Hardinge). In 1986 considering possible backwater affecting up to the Indian territory, the site was shifted to a further down stream near Habashpur, Rajbari. In 2001 it is reported that the site was changed and was selected for the Ganges Barrage near Thakurbari of Kushtia after a study on the Padma Dependant Area. If it is constructed at this site, it will be possible to give gravity to the Ganges Kobadak and Pabna Irrigation projects, according to water experts.
The Ganges-Kobadak Irrigation Project (G.K. project) covers an area of 197,500 ha, of which 142,000 ha are net irrigable, and are under the jurisdiction of Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah and Magura districts. If the Ganges Barrage is built in the country, the benefits will be huge. According to a report, it is estimated that an additional 2.6 million tones of food grains would be produced and 240,000 tonnes of fish would be available Furthermore the Ganges Barrage would have provided more water to the river near the Rooppur Nuclear Plants, being constructed in Pabna with Russian assistance.
For the construction of the Ganges Barrage, water experts say that India’s support is required. During the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Hasina invited India’s cooperation in jointly developing the Ganges Barrage on the river Padma in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Modi conveyed that he would have the matter examined by the concerned agencies in India. (Paragraph 18 of the Joint Declaration issued on June 7th, 2015 after the visit).
Many in Bangladesh interpret that the response from the Indian Prime Minister means that the Ganges Barrage will not be able to see its fruition in near future because the examination of the Indian agencies (it was preferable to include Bangladesh agencies in the examination) has not been time-bound by which it would be concluded. Some maintain the extreme view that India has sent the Bangladesh proposal to “cold storage”
This being the case, water experts believe that India did not respond to the Bangladesh proposal as it should have deserved during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister.
It is further reported that Japan which agreed to provide funds for the construction of the Ganges Barrage is now reluctant to do so unless India supports the Ganges Barrage in Bangladesh.
Given the fact that Bangladesh will need to increase its agricultural yield about 2% per cent per year to meet the needs of the population that will increase to 200 million by 2020. To cope with the situation, Bangladesh must rely on water from rivers.
”Bangladesh suffers Tk. 30,000 crore in loss annually because of India’s unilateral withdrawal of waters upstream, according to an estimate made by some environmentalists and river water experts in Bangladesh. Due to insufficient water flows from India, Bangladesh is facing severe losses in crop production, fishes, aquatics, intrusion of salinity and degradation of environment and forests over the years, they said.
Meanwhile, it is reported that India plans to build 16 new dams on the Ganges River between Varanasi and Hooghly. The 16 proposed dams reportedly would convert the Ganges “into 16 huge ponds… Such dams would further deplete water downstream to Bangladesh and may turn the riverine country into a desert.
It is heartening to note a report in the media that Bangladesh has decided to push for a fair and comprehensive solution to sharing of water not only of the Teesta but of all the 54 common rivers with India. Bangladesh Prime Minister reportedly conveyed this message “very boldly and diplomatically” to her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the latter’s recent Dhaka visit. The PM told Modi that Bangladesh expected India to settle the water sharing issues in a spirit of accommodation.
It is to be noted Modi poetically described in a speech in Dhaka that birds, air and water flow uninterrupted as they do not recognize borders. Let his idea turn into reality in water sharing of all common rivers between the two countries to further strength the bilateral relationship.
Barrister Harun ur Rashid, Former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva
Ganges barrage: China keen to help
May 5, 2016 12:44 am
Mustafizur Rahman
China is willing to provide both technical and financial assistances to the much hyped Ganges Barrage project to be constructed at Pangsha in Rajbari at an estimated cost of $4 billion.
Senior secretary to the water resources ministry Zafar Ahmed Khan said this after a meeting with a Chinese delegation at the ministry on Wednesday.
A three-member Chinese delegation led by China Gezhouba Group Company Ltd general manager Hu Oili called on water resources minister Anisul Islam Mahmud at the minister’s office.
The secretary told New Age that the Chinese state-owned firm, already appointed to conduct a detailed feasibility study with focus on both financial and technical sides, was expected to submit its report within a year.
The construction firm was engaged almost two year and a half ago and was given one more year to complete a counter feasibility study, Zafar said, adding that the government earlier had conducted a feasibility study on the project on its own.
There was no such barrier to the implementation of the project now, he replied to a question.
He said that the government would go ahead with the construction of the barrage over the cross-border river with the cooperation of India, an upper-riparian country, mainly to check salinity intrusion and provide irrigation facility in the country’s south-western region.
Several officials said that the construction of the barrage was now pending for ‘clearance’ from New Delhi, which had sought a detailed feasibility study report with answers to some specific queries from Dhaka on the planned barrage over the river Padma, the lower part of the course of the Ganges in India.
The secretary said that the government would share the detailed study report with India and give answers to the queries.
The proposed barrage would provide irrigation for around 1.90 million hectares of land in the greater districts of Kushtia, Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, Pabna and Rajshahi.
It would also protect the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, and its biodiversity, according to project documents.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in April 2015 in her directives on the issue reportedly said that the barrage would be a Bangladesh-India joint project and it would ensure that the natural flow of the Ganges/Padma in Bangladesh parts.
The reservoir to be created by the barrage would involve both Bangladesh and Indian parts of the river, as per the directives.
In 1975, India commissioned a barrage across the Ganges at Farakka to divert water into the Bhagirathi-Hoogly river in West Bengal for the purpose of flushing the silts to improve the navigability of the Kolkata port, official documents show.
Due to the diversion, the flows in the Ganges, known as Padma after it enters Bangladesh, reduced considerably and affected agriculture, fishery, forestry, navigation and industrial development in the Ganges dependent areas in Bangladesh, said officials.
The World Heritage site Sundarbans was now on the verge of extinction, because of high salinity levels during dry season due to lack of water flow, said officials involved in the project.
In September 2014, Bangladesh appraised India of the brief feasibility study of the project for optimum and proper management of water available under the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty signed between the two neighbours in 1996.
Later in January 2015, India requested Bangladesh to share the complete feasibility report, including the mathematical modelling and morphological studies.
http://newagebd.net/227791/ganges-barrage-project/
Source:
https://defence.pk/threads/ganges-barrage-china-keen-to-help.459289/#ixzz4Sgum0s9C
A barrage is a weir that has adjustable gates installed over top of it, to allow different water surface heights at different times. The water level is adjusted by operating the adjustable gates. A dam is a high impervious barrier constructed across a river valley to form a deep storage reservoir.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-barrage-and-a-dam
What is the difference between a barrage and a dam?
2 Answers
Nikhil Nair, Civil engineer
Written 25 Mar 2015
A Barrage is a diversion headworks it's main aim is to divert the flow of river it does not have a storage reservoir on its upstream side. The water is elevated only to few feet.
A Dam on the other hand is a storage headwork so the main aim of dam is to create a storage reservoir on the upstream of the dam. Dams are mostly multipurpose projects used for Irrigation, hydroelectric power, Flood control, recreation etc.
Rohit Padharia, Working in Hydro Power Sector
Both are constructed across the river to maintain the flow of river, for diverting water to canal for irrigation, for generating electricity. So it become often confusing to distinguish between both.
Apart from similarities these two have following differences
- In Barrage, the entire length across a river that is between the banks is provided with gates having their bottom level touching the river bed level. Therefore the water storage behind Barrage is totally dependent on Height of its gates.
Fig: Barrage
- In Dam, there are spillway gates near its top level and the storage of water behind the dam is mainly due to the height of the concrete structure and partially due to the height of the gate.
Fig: Dam
- Barrage is considered as a type of Dam.
- According to World Commission on Dams
“a barrage is built for diverting water, a dam is built for storing water in a reservoir to raise the level of water considerably and barrage is usually built where the surface is flat across meandering rivers. It raises the water level only by a few feet.”
- A dam stores surplus flood water and distributes it through irrigation tunnels in the dam or through canals from its reservoir.
- In the case of barrages, there is no such storage and the canals take water directly from the rivers.
Thus it can be said that whereas dams add water, barrages subtract it.
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