Agreements & MOUs - The Ganga: Water Use in the Indian Subcontinent - page 175

a static yearly catch until the dry season of 1975 but thereafter a sharp decline.
India maintained that the main hilsa catch could not have been affected, because
it took place in the monsoon season when all gates of the barrage are kept fully
open. However, New Delhi conceded that hilsa catch was going down even before
the withdrawals. The team observed that reduced flows could affect fish spawn-
ing and therefore, reduce breeding but statistical evidence was not sufficient and
conclusive.
Bangladesh government in its White Paper argued that increased salinity affected
the health of its people and the eco-system of the region, especially in the
Sundarbans. Drinking water ran short in southwest Bangladesh in 1976 and 1977,
as water-level receded in wells, ponds and nulla s (narrow canals) and bred many
diseases. India argued that no adverse effect was noticed in people in the Indian part
of the Sundarbans. The 'Special Studies' team had no word about ecology, except
that in the region it was indeed affected in the recent years owing to the construction
of Farakka Barrage.
One can see that the views of Bangladesh government and of the 'Special
Studies' team were one-sided, biased and not always based on facts and circum-
stances and did not take into account the various causative factors. Most of these
exponents over-estimated the effects of the withdrawals of the Ganga water at
Farakka on Bangladesh. On the other hand, India's assessment of the effects of
Farakka withdrawals on Bangladesh was based on certain assumptions, held in
pre-Farakka days, and not on studies after the diversion and therefore, smacked of
under-estimates.
The Special Studies team analysed the data in a neutral and realistic manner.
According to it, the Gorai-Madhumati and the Rupsa-Pussar used to be moribund
in the dry season, even before Farakka Barrage came up. Flows in the river were
negligible in four to five months, even in 1951 and 1954. The mouth of the Garai
had silted up, requiring dredging in dry season. Therefore, the diversion of water at
Farakka might not have had any ill effect on reduction of discharge in the Gorai-
Madhumati.
The diversion had some adverse effects on the ground-water table in Bangladesh.
As the Special Studies team said, it was difficult to quantify the effect, as it depended
on many other factors, like rainfall, ground slope, location of permeable strata and
perched water bodies below the ground, soil stratification etc. The team added that
the ground-water contour in southwest Bangladesh sloped toward the river, i.e., the
flow of the ground-water of the region was toward the river only. India's claim that
the Ganga below Farakka flowed through Indian territory on the right bank, for
more than 100 km and that no adverse effect of Farakka withdrawals by India on
ground-water has been noticed. Therefore, Dhaka's allegations of adverse effects on
Bangladesh were not fully justified.
Another allegation of increased salinity intrusion in southwest Bangladesh was,
however, partly true. Agriculture and industry in the Pussar estuary from Rupsa-
Pussar region to that of the upper Gorai-Madhumati were indeed affected by
increased salinity. Big industries at Khulna - paper mills, power station, jute-
processing units etc. were affected partly by saline water but the estimated loss of
120 million taka in 1976 appeared exaggerated.