NEW DELHI, Sept 17: India and Bangladesh may have failed to sign agreements on sharing waters of Teesta and Feni rivers, but progress made on riverbank protection and dredging of 54 common rivers will go a long way in providing the two countries much-needed reprieve from floods and erosion.
According to an update provided by the Water Resources Ministry to National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office last week, dredging work on the Ichamati river to restore navigability and prevent flooding in West Bengal and Bangladesh is almost complete.
Dhaka and New Delhi had agreed to dredge the river on the Bangladesh side as well as the Indian side as a shoal or a sandbank had been causing floods on both sides.
Over the last two years, the river has been dredged over a 20-km stretch and will be widened by 7.5 meters on both sides.
Besides checking floods, it will provide more catch to fishermen on both sides of the international border and improve navigation.
The meeting also took stock of the progress made between the two countries on the issue of water resources.
On the issue of riverbank protection, the ministry informed the PMO that the work is continuing at 50 sites in Bangladesh, and Tripura and West Bengal on the Indian side.
The riverbank protection will help protect against soil and bank erosion which often changes the geography of the international border.
The protection, which is in its advanced stage, is likely to be completed in the next few months.
India provides flood forecasting data to Bangladesh from two sites – Farakka and Sahibganj on river Ganga.
Opposition by the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has prevented the two countries from signing a 15-year interim accord on sharing the waters of Teesta. Another accord on sharing of Feni waters is also pending.
India and Bangladesh have 2,979 km of land border and 1,116 km of riverine boundary. (PTI)
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