Ganga pact renewal: West Bengal urges Centre to protect state’s water, port interests

West Bengal has urged the Centre to safeguard its water, port and industrial interests while renewing the Ganga-Padma water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh. The State has stressed adequate dry-season flow, citing navigability issues, river erosion, silt accumulation and emerging water needs

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has urged the Centre to ensure that the state’s interests relating to water, ports and industry are not compromised while renewing the 30-year-old Ganga-Padma water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh, which is set to expire this December, a senior government official said.

The issue was raised by state government representatives at a recent meeting of an internal committee of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, where they also submitted a report highlighting the state’s requirements for Ganga water for drinking and industrial purposes, he said.

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“Our primary concern is to ensure that the state’s legitimate requirements are adequately protected in any renewed agreement. Adequate downstream flow during the dry season is particularly important for the Bhagirathi-Hooghly system,” the bureaucrat told PTI.

The state has given priority to maintaining adequate water flow through the Farakka Barrage into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system during the dry season, he said.

Reduced water flow in the Hooghly has created navigability problems, while large stretches of Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts, both upstream and downstream of the Farakka Barrage, also face severe river erosion every year.

“Lower water flow and the accumulation of silt have implications not only for the river system but also for navigation and the port. These aspects need to be factored in during discussions on the future water-sharing arrangement,” he said.

Excessive silt accumulation also contributes to recurring floods and has a direct bearing on vessel movement at Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, he said.

The state government has also flagged the declining groundwater level and increasing concerns over arsenic contamination.

“Ganga water is increasingly important for the state, including for drinking water after treatment, irrigation and certain industrial requirements. Any future arrangement has to take into account these emerging needs as well as the environmental concerns,” the official said.

Ganga water is being used for irrigation and, after treatment, for drinking purposes, while a portion is also supplied for industrial use.

The state government has therefore urged that environmental risks, river erosion and the requirement of maintaining adequate downstream flow be given due weight in any fresh water-sharing arrangement between India and Bangladesh, the official added.