Center should keep Bihar's interests in mind while renewing Ganga water pact with Bangladesh: Vijay Chaudhary

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said on Tuesday that the Indian government should keep Bihar's interests in mind while renewing the Ganga Water Treaty with Bangladesh.
Addressing a press conference held at the JDU state office, Mr Chaudhary said that the India-Bangladesh Ganga Water Treaty will complete 30 years in 2026 and is due for renewal this year. He said that the former Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has been informing the central government from time to time about the potential losses to Bihar from this agreement. He said that recently, under the leadership of Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, the party's National Executive President Sanjay Kumar Jha met the Union Finance Minister, External Affairs Minister and Hydropower Minister and stressed that Bihar's interests should be kept in mind while renewing the Ganga water agreement with Bangladesh. Positive assurances have also been received from the central government in this regard.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that the Ganga Water Treaty between India and Bangladesh was signed in 1996 during the tenure of then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda Bihar was then ruled by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the political influence of Lalu Prasad Yadav was strong. He said that if Mr. Yadav wanted, he could have tried to block the deal, which is against the interests of the people of Bihar, but he did not. Bihar has been suffering the consequences for the past 30 years.
Mr Chaudhary said that the ever-increasing amount of silting in the Ganges River after the construction of the Farka barrage in Murshidabad, West Bengal is becoming a serious problem for Bihar. Silt is affecting the water holding capacity of the river and increasing the water pressure on the embankments during floods. He emphasized the need for a permanent solution to the problem of siltation in the Ganga river.
Referring to Bhagalpur's Kharak block, the Water Resources Minister said that due to heavy siltation, mounds were formed there and the Ganga changed its course. This created a situation of embankment collapse. About 50 engineers and officials worked continuously to deal with the crisis and finally the situation was brought under control with the help of three steamers, he said. The Deputy Chief Minister said that the problem of silting in Farka Barrage and Ganga is not just a political issue but a serious question regarding the future of lakhs of people of Bihar. It has a direct impact on irrigation, drinking water, agriculture, industry and people's livelihood. Therefore, all political parties should unite and take up this issue strongly in the interest of Bihar. Mr Chaudhary said that Bihar faces difficulties in using Ganga water even during droughts, when it needs it the most. He added that under the terms of the agreement, the Indian government has to transfer about 1,500 cusecs of Ganga water to Bangladesh. This affects the interests of Bihar, and this aspect should be seriously considered while renewing the agreement.
The water resources minister said that through "Nitish Samwad" JDU is creating public awareness about the damage caused to Bihar by Farka barrage and increasing siltation in Ganga. He said that the party seeks cooperation from all political parties to highlight this serious public concern.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that the long-term water requirements of Bihar should be assessed scientifically and the interests of the state should not be neglected while determining any future water arrangements.
Be it the rivers of Panpan, Dardha and Kosi regions or the water coming from Chota Nagpur, the final destination of all is the Ganges, and the water of the Ganges flows into the Bay of Bengal, Mr. Chaudhary said. In such a situation, the ever-increasing siltation of the Ganga may become a serious crisis in the future. He said that the problem of flooding due to siltation in Ganga and its tributaries cannot be solved by immediate measures alone. To achieve this goal, the central and state governments have to jointly develop a long-term and effective strategy.
Mr. Chaudhary said that following his initiative and the efforts and demands of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Central Government had formulated a national silt management policy, but its implementation was slow. He added that the nature of the siltation problem in the Ganga is different from other rivers in the country, so a unique strategy is needed to solve it keeping in mind the unique conditions of the Ganga.