Chronology of Events - The Ganga: Water Use in the Indian Subcontinent - page 228

Individual/Committee etc. Year Observation

Dr.I.W.Hensen,German
engineer, in 'A Review
of the problems of the
port of Calcutta'

1957 (a) Long-term inter-connected changes have taken place in

the Bhagirathi and the lower Hooghly, which have
adversely affected the development of tides, the capacity
of the Bhagirathi and the Hooghly, salinity, bores and the
like. The discharge from the Ganga has decreased with
the passage of time and the scouring effect of high
freshets has decreased with time and will go down even
more with further reduction of flushing.
(b) The best and only technical solution is construction of a
barrage across the Ganga at Farakka, which would stop
long-term deterioration in the Bhagirathi-Hooghly and
possibly lead to gradual improvement.

K. K. Framji, Chief
Engineer, Ganga Basin
Organisation in 'The
Farakka Barrage
Project: The fulfilment
of a dream'

1975 The over 100-year delay in taking up the project barrage

was never on account of any doubt about its usefulness, or
importance but of unreasonable fear. Sir Arthur Cotton's
plan was thwarted by the then governor of Bengal, Sir
George Campbell. 'I was perhaps a little afraid of once
letting in Sir Arthur Cotton and his schemes, for I did
not know when we should get them out again.' Similarly,
baseless fears of the possible adverse consequence
of the irrigation and flood control interests in the
areas downstream of the barrage in the then East Pakistan
led to indefinite stalling of the project since 1951.

iii) Adverse Views

Expert/Agency Year Comments

Kapil Bhattacharya,
Superintending
Engineer, I & W
Directorate Govt. of
W. B. in 'Silting of
Calcutta Port'

1961 The deterioration of the Hooghly was caused not by a

natural decline of the river's headwater but after building
dams on the Damodar and the Rupnarayan, the two of its
western tributaries. He said, the Farakka Barrage,
proposed on the Ganga under the pressure of misguided
public opinion, will cause disaster in Bihar and West
Bengal, because it was the wrong river to tackle to save
Calcutta Port and resuscitate the Bhagirathi-Hooghly. It
is the Rupnarayan which should be tackled.
In spite of my warnings, the Damodar Valley Project has
been implemented without taking into consideration
flood-tides and tide-borne silts into the Runarayan and
the lower Hooghly. As a result, the Calcutta Port has been
killed and the main drainage channel (The Hooghly) ...

choked, causing repeated flood-havoc on an
ever-increasing scale. If my warnings against Farakka
Barrage are not heeded, people will have to suffer
consequences.