Teesta barrage project dos and donts for bangladesh

The Teesta issue is one of the issues on which there is a lot of tension in India-
Bangladesh relations. Agriculture and fish production in the north are closely
linked with the Teesta. In particular, the people of 5,426 villages in the Teesta
Basin depend heavily on this river for their livelihood. So the declining flow of
Teesta water is a blow to our lives and livelihoods. The Teesta Basin covers an
area of 6,051 sq km in the hilly region of India. The Teesta Basin covers an area of
4,106 sq km on flat land, about half of which is bordered by Bangladesh. Both
countries have built extensive infrastructure on and around the river at different
times to make the best use of the Teesta water. India is currently using Teesta
water for hydropower generation and irrigation activities, while Bangladesh is
using Teesta water only for planned irrigation. But for more than a decade,
especially in the dry season, India's exclusive water withdrawal has led to a steady
decline in the Teesta water in Bangladesh. The problems we are facing are
mentioned below:

Due to the declining flow of water in the Teesta, Bangladesh is suffering severely
in boro production only in the dry season. This is because the flow of water in the
river Teesta is less in the dry season than in other times. The amount of water that
India releases to meet the irrigation demand of its 68 MW hydropower plant and
540,000 hectares of land cannot meet even half of our irrigation demand during the
Boro season. During the dry season in Bangladesh in 1996, the flow of water in the
Teesta was about 6500 cusecs, which came down to 1348 cusecs in 2006 and only
700 cusecs in 2014, which is not acceptable at all.

Now let's come to the extent of our economic losses due to low water availability
in the dry season. Irrigation activities were also extended during the Boro season to
increase food production from the 2006-07 crop years. Although it is possible to
irrigate almost the entire 79,379 hectares of irrigable area during the Aman season,
the picture of irrigation success in the case of Boro is very disappointing due to the
scarcity of water. For example, out of the total 79379 hectares of irrigable land in
the 2006-07, 2008-09 and 2013-14 crop years, only 11323, 29425 and 27486
hectares of land have been irrigated respectively, which is only 14 per cent, 36 per
cent and 35 per cent of the total irrigable land. Since there is no irrigation system
other than river water in the area covered by the Teesta Barrage project, huge
amount of land is not being cultivated every year. On the other hand, due to lack of
water, irrigation activities are being disrupted and the paddy plants are drying up,
Teesta barrage project dos and donts for bangladesh

thus destroying the investment made by the farmers in making seedbeds and
purchasing high quality seeds.As a result, marginal farmers in the region are facing
huge economic losses, which are having a direct impact on their quality of life.

According to our research, we could not produce a total of 42 lakh 54 thousand

218 metric tons of boro paddy from 2006-07 to 2013-14 due to water crisis in
Teesta river. At current market value, it amounts to over Rs 600 crore, which could
undoubtedly have made a significant contribution to our GDP; It could strengthen
the food security zone in the northwest and increase the income of economically
backward farmers in the region. In addition to the economic damage caused by the
scarcity of water in the Teesta, we are facing another kind of loss, which is not
commonly said, but is not being said to be as widespread as it should be, and that is
environmental damage.

For five of the 10 years from 2005 to 2014, there was virtually no water in the
Teesta River during the dry season. To put it bluntly, all the small amount of water
that is available in the Teesta River after the withdrawal of India during the dry
season is being supplied to agricultural lands through several hundred irrigation
canals through the Teesta Barrage project to meet the irrigation demand. This is
how the river dies in the dry season after the Teesta Barrage area. Since the Teesta
Barrage at Dalia Point, the 96-kilometer-wide Teesta River has not had a single
cusec of water. Due to this, this huge amount of river bed of Bangladesh part of
Teesta basin is turning into shelf. Since the river Teesta flows through the north
and joins the river Jamuna, a significant portion of the water of the river Jamuna
also flows from the river Teesta. On the other hand, the natural functioning of the
Teesta River is being disrupted due to the drying up of the river during the dry
season, disrupting the ecological balance in the river basin and, above all, losing its
past ecological potential. Needless to say, when the Teesta River dries up, riverine
biodiversity is also under serious threat. Needless to say, since there are no other
rivers as large as the Teesta in the northwest, a significant portion of the region's
climate depends on the Teesta. So if the Teesta River dries up like this almost
every year due to lack of water, then in the near future the climate of the north-
Teesta barrage project dos and donts for bangladesh

western region will also be affected. Therefore, the Teesta River has infinite value
due to environmental reasons, which requires more research on a larger scale. We
need 550 to 700 cusecs of water in the river at all times to maintain the ecological
balance in the dry season in the Teesta Basin and at least four thousand cusecs of
water to meet the demand of Boro paddy.

In conclusion, what we want to say is that the Teesta water agreement needs to be
signed on the basis of immediate transparency and equality in order to mitigate our
economic and environmental damage. The longer the Teesta treaty lasts, the more
our losses will increase and India will continue to benefit from Bangladesh's losses.
It is essential to calculate the amount of economic losses that Bangladesh has
suffered in recent years due to the declining flow of the Teesta River during the dry
season and to seek compensation from India. If we do not calculate the amount of
our losses and seek compensation, then India and its people will not understand the
real situation. It would be more reasonable and fruitful to present the data on the
reduction of water flow in the discussion table as well as the amount of economic
losses. Before our recent study on Teesta water scarcity was conducted, we did not
have any actual statistics on the extent to which the lack of Teesta water is
affecting regional agriculture. It is now hoped that Bangladesh will be able to make
a strong statement at the negotiating table with India, citing the extent of the
damage, and be able to claim its fair share of Teesta water.