The government has finally abandoned its Ganges Barrage Project proposed to be constructed in Pangsha area of Rajbari.
Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud on Wednesday gave the announcement only a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina termed the project design faulty and suicidal like the Teesta Barrage.
The Prime Minister raised the question on the design of the Ganges Barrage after her four-day visit to India, one of the major stakeholders of the project.
However, Bangladesh was expecting India's participation and assurance in the construction of the barrage before her immediate past visit to the country.
After a meeting with a six-member Chinese delegation, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud told reporters at his secretariat office: "A high-powered technical committee will be formed to examine the project thoroughly."
It's a question of design. It will be examined how and where it can be constructed taking into consideration the impact of the Farakka Barrage, he said.
Chinese Water Resources Minister Chen Lei led the six-member delegation of his country during the meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart.
Anisul said: "We have agreements with India on water sharing. Bangladesh signed a 30-year water-sharing treaty with India in 1996. So, the high-powered committee will also examine issues of best uses of Ganges water entering Bangladesh through Farakka Barrage."
Chief Minister of Bihar has already raised the question about the impact of Farakka Barrage, the minister said adding that concepts are changing continuously and the committee will find out alternative option of constructing the proposed Ganges Barrage in future.
"A Chinese company is now conducting a study on the barrage with its own finance. So, we are thinking about other options - whether the Ganges Barrage to be constructed on the main river or any branch river considering the impact of Farakka Barrage," he said.
The construction of the Farakka Barrage began in the early 1960s and it was made operational in 1975.
Bangladesh has had dispute with India over sharing of waters of common rivers including the Ganges. The two countries signed a 30-year water-sharing treaty in 1996.
According to the Water Resources Ministry, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) took up the Ganges Barrage Project in 2002 and conducted a pre-feasibility study on it the same year.
Later, the BNP-Jamaat-led government shelved the BWDB proposal to conduct a detailed feasibility study.
However, the BWDB finally got the green signal in 2009 and completed the study by December, 2012 to implement the proposed barrage.
Meanwhile, some southeast countries and international organisations including the World Bank (WB), China and Japan have expressed their interests to finance the mega project.
According to an estimate, if the barrage is constructed around 19 lakh hectares of farmland in greater Kushtia, Faridpur, Jessore, Khulna, Barisal, Pabna and Rajshahi districts will get agricultural benefits.
A 165km-long and 12.5-metre deep reservoir from Pangsa of Rajbari via Pabna to Chapainawabganj will help produce 25 lakh tonnes of additional food grains and 2.4 lakh tonnes of fishe.
The soil salinity level in the areas surrounding the south-western rivers, including the Gorai, Hisna, Modhumati, Katakhali, Bishnu, Chandana, Chitra, Nabaganga, Chandana, Mathabhanga, Afra, Bhairav, Betna, Kobadak, Sibsa and the Baleswar will come down significantly during the lean period and the barrage will help protect the Sundarbans.
It was proposed that the barrage would have 96 gates. Of them, 78 gates with spillways on the top and 18 under sluice gates. It would take seven years to construct the 2.1-km-long barrage including the same length (2.1km) of railway bridge with nine regulators and 10 bridges.
The barrage would help to meet the demand for water of 118 small and medium-sized projects including GK Project, Pabna Irrigation Project, he added.
He further said, the south-west, south-central, rivers and estuary region including 21 districts will be under the project and the farmers of the areas will able to cultivate their land through irrigation during the dry season.
