bdenvironment.com

Category: Ecosystems

Groundwater depletion and related environmental threats around Dhaka city and other cities nearby
Kowshik Ahmed: Water! Fresh water! Which is the most essential element for us and our environment. If I say, you have to live one day long without water, then you must freak out! Obviously it must be difficult to survive a single day without water. And if you still don’t know, how is it to live without pure water, then you are welcomed to try!
The matter of fact is most of the people of our country still doesn’t know the value of fresh water because water is often easy to get here. But when it’s about the over populated and urbanized city like Dhaka, then most of the people can feel the crisis of fresh water around them.
Now the question is, is it all about the fresh water crisis?
-NO, it’s not only about fresh water crisis but also about other environmental threats like- groundwater level depletion, land aggravation, deterioration in water quality, environmental drying up and increasing the process of desertification, depletion of water in streams and lakes in the city etc.
So, how this all are related? Let’s discuss.
Because of over population and urbanization in Dhaka city, the continuous withdrawal process of groundwater is taken place over last 30 years in demand of the daily need. The surface water resources, like- lacks, rivers, streams are filled up due to urbanization.
Because of that the recharge process of groundwater level is averted and the level of groundwater drops around 7-10 meters in the different places of Dhaka city. Scientists are concerned that it may lead the process of land aggravation which may cause severe “Earthquake” in the Dhaka city. It may cause subsidence of some construction in the Dhaka city. Also the water quality is deteriorating day by day which is a great health threat.
Lack of proper drainage system and groundwater recharge system, sometimes it leads to severe desertification and sometimes severe flash flood. Both cause great damage to our environment and life.
Now, what initiatives are needed to take for prevent those threats? Let’s discuss…
First of all, we must need a proper water management plan and properly implementing those which are already exists. Formulate special groundwater rules and we all have to stop misusing the fresh water.
Secondly, Artificial recharging of groundwater must be executed through excavating necessary numbers of lacks and water streams and also by river dredging.
Thirdly, Use modern technology for water contribution and spread awareness of stop misusing the supplies water. Fix the supply limit for residences and industries and maintain that strictly.
Fourthly, we have to stop water pollution and plastic pollution. All the industry must follow the treatments rules for pollutants. No industry should be permitted to set up without a proper treatment plant for waste water. Necessary number of water treatment plant must be established all over the country and operate regularly.
And the fifth point is each and every building should have the storage system for store rain water. We must utilize the rain water for our use to reduce the burden of groundwater.
So in a nutshell, we can say that by following those steps discussed above we can diminish the problem and make the place environmental friendly and sustainable for everyone. Along with that we must keep planting trees which are the natural savior of the environment and also important for our groundwater preservation.
(The writer is a student of Patuakhali Science and Technology University and champion of National Environmental Writing Contest 2020. He can be reached at [email protected])
October 16, 2020
Sundarbans, the Green Savior
Tahjeeb Hossain Chowdhury: Sundarbans is our Green Savior. It has always been the green protector for both our coastal regions and also the overall country in hindsight. The world’s largest mangrove forest has been cradling the people and properties of Bangladesh from devastating calamities. The same has been proven again as Sundarbans have fought off the Cyclone Amphan’s adverse effects on the coastal areas of Bangladesh.
From time and again Sundarbans have risen to the occasion again and again in saving our ecology from destructive forces of nature. Cyclones, in particular, could not damage our country’s many areas because of how the mangrove could swallow and absorb all the shock that the calamity has.
In the case of Amphan, the Acting Chief Conservator of the Forest, Amir Hossain Chowdhury said to media about how most of the force was absorbed by the forest. He said that the extent of the damage hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the nine regional offices of the forest were evacuated in the face of oncoming danger. The Nine offices were as follows: Kotka, Kochikhali, Shelarchar, Pashakkhali, Baherakhali, Puspakathi, Notabeki, Kachikata, Kawakhali.
60 to 70 employees of the forest offices were evacuated in time. The honey collectors were advised to seek refuge in the forest. Tiger Preservation expert Khasru Chowdhury has said about how the forest has saved the areas by absorbing the shock of the storms.
Dr Reza Khan has said to the media that the Khulna district would be akin to a dessert, and people would have problems of employment, if it wasn’t for Sundarbans.
The Sidr calamity of 2007 also wreaked havoc in our country. The Chandpai range of the forest was dealt heavy damages as trees were uprooted and vegetation was damaged. Yet, Sundarbans recovered as the Green Warrior it has been.
Sundarbans is a protector of the environment and also a vital cog in the wheel of the overall economy. The Rampal, Mongla, Taltoli, Kalapara industrial activities may cause dire situations for the forest in the future. The government has to plan and take due responsibilities in preserving our bulwark in the form of Sundarbans. The Joint 6017 square kilometers of land within India and Bangladesh do a lot for our overall environmental status. Saving it from future harm should have top-priority as cyclones will keep coming. We will need our protector once again that Cyclones visit again.
(The writer is a marketing graduate, content writer, and data science enthusiast from Dhaka, reach him at [email protected])
Photo Courtesy: National Geographic
May 21, 2020
Plastic microparticles threaten unique Galapagos fauna
Tahjeeb Hossain Chowdhury: The Scenic Oceanside beaches and marinas are now heaped in washed up or thrown out plastic from commuters on the beach. The Galapagos seems like an industrial wasteland filled with plastic, metal, and a host of trash strewn across the shores. This is indicative of how callous the overall process of waste management in the area has been. Yet, underneath that, there is a threat to the inhabitants of the area be it human and fauna. The microparticles from the waste, especially ones from the plastic pose significant damages.
The microparticles from plastic washing up on the shores have come from nearby countries. The archipelago in the pacific is 600 miles west of Ecuador. The waste from nearby countries or in some degree continents washes up on the shores. The microparticle discharge from these plastic wastes can find their way into the stomachs of unsuspecting fauna like the Iguana, tortoise, birds. These can become fatal and cause deaths of the natural inhabitants. Researchers from the Galapagos National Park have said that the particles might end up in the food of the humans as well. With a population of 25000, that risk might be dire than the words spell them out to be.
Galapagos is also a heritage site according to Unesco and more efforts from the authorities of surrounding South American countries are expected as the majority of the waste pertains to these countries. Park Rangers and volunteers with their gloves and sacks are the only defense against the rampant waste that faces the Galapagos islands. Most of the plastic washing up has been Chinese Products ranging from plastic shampoo bottles to food containers to even unknown objects that look like adult toys.
The locals and the volunteers have made an appeal to the surrounding authorities. In recent years of 2018 and 2019, the waste has accumulated to over 6.5 tons with no signs of the number dropping anytime soon. Authorities and International bodies have to come together and address the situation. Rare species of fauna including the marine Iguana depend on the food in algae, insects, and small crabs. The particles mixed in the ocean endanger their existence at a fatal level. Soon, all species including humans in the Galapagos may be at danger if no steps are taken.
(The writer is a marketing graduate, content writer, and data science enthusiast from Dhaka, reach him at [email protected])
Photo Courtesy: Bangkok Post
May 9, 2020
14 Thousands Square kilometer Area will Disappear
Ashik Rahman: 14 thousand square kilometers of the Indian subcontinent will disappear for one meter of sea level increases. And six meters increases will absorb the coastal area of 60 thousand square kilometers for global warming matter.
Increasing global warming greenhouse effect’s, Sea levels if the water level rises by one meter. The Indian subcontinent coastal area about 14 km from the sea fishes are very vulnerable. A group of scientists in the study was asked to report on. The way they have been attributed to climate change.
Sea level will rise because of sea temperatures increase, glaciers, and ice neck and ice memoranda down. Numerous reports warned that one-meter water level increases of 48 ecoregions that crash is 18 which is Krishna, godabari badabanera quarter. Destroying UNESCO World Heritage area, Sundarbans and Gujarat saltwater of the shore half. The level of the six-meter does lead to the drowning that is at risk of 7 ecoregions.

The sea level of one meter increases the damage of the species could not appear. But drowning is seven protected areas including Orisara inside the cell, Silika Lake, Point kayalimeyara Island, Interview Island, lothiyana Island, and the sajanekhali. This disaster will be lost in the hundreds of rare species those are living in down the coast ecosystem operation. The Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea coast have been saved and the unsaved biodiversity of the area in endanger.
Sea level rises if the country’s risk the most, the top has a geographically from the low lying terrain Bangladesh. Most vulnerable in the face of the cit, Global banks, according to water level 14 centimeters increases for two people endanger those who live in the 700 kilometers long low lying coastal areas. Climate change impacts will be 47 million dollars to prevent the government of Bangladesh. It has two major projects, which is a coastal area and builds a thicker lawn.
The main cause of global warming, fossil fuels produce carbon-die-oxide and greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gas increases the temperature of the earth’s surface which is a major global warming threat.
Photo Courtesy: CBS News
March 31, 2020
Dhaka Water War
Fahmida Sattar: Dhaka water war, it is often said that mankind will experience a war over water in the near future. The claim has some truth in it, no doubt about that. But the term ‘Dhaka Water War’ is already an existing truth for Dhaka dwellers. It is indeed irony for a city surrounded by a river that it can not provide the least quantity of water. Experts often blame mismanagement and unplanned urbanization, rapid population growth in cities, etc. This article ‘Dhaka Water War’ will attempt to investigate the water crisis of Dhaka from a perspective where water is considered as a birth right not a mere commodity. In light of this idea, the article will also make an effort to provide some suggestions to lessen and then solve the water crisis, which has made the city of 15 million people a ‘living hell’. The focus will be on the community measures which require less budget and bureaucratic complexities.
The Current Situation
According to a report by The World Bank, Dhaka has the highest population growth rate for a city in the entire world. Around 3-4 million people, which constitute about one-fifth of the total population of this mega-city, live in slums. Most of the slums lack any proper water supply lines from WASA. Slum-dwellers standing in long rows, waiting for hours to collect a single gallon of water, is a very common scene.
Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) said they are producing 160 to 165 crore liters of water which is about 25 percent less than demand. It extracts groundwater using 620 deep tube wells. In addition, more than 2,200 private wells also draw water to serve high-rise buildings and various institutions. The underground water now provides 88% percent of total demand, which was 95% before The Saidabad Water Treatment Plant went into action in 1995. As a result, the subterranean water level drops about 3 meters every year. The rate is 53.75 meters in Mirpur, 18.59 in Mohammedpur and 8.22 meters in Sutrapur. This rapid fall of underground water level does not only create a crisis in the supply of water but also the vacuum left by this fall possesses a great threat of an earthquake. Besides saline water is intruding to fill up space, posing a threat to getting fresh drinking water in the future.
As Bangladesh is often titled as `land of rivers’, the nearby rivers could be considered as a source of water to diminish the pressure on underground water. But WASA emits 1,000 tonnes of untreated human waste into the rivers adjacent to the city every day, which means river water is unfit for human consumption. The unmonitored industrial wastage system is worsening this problem day by day.
Community Measures of Dhaka Water War
One of the key factors which have a major effect on the gradual descending of subterranean water level is that our city planners often leave little chance for the rain water to get into the ground. Because most of the city areas are paved over, rainwater cannot be absorbed by the ground. Instead, it runs across the pavement, picking up oil, street debris, animal feces, and other waste as it moves. Reducing the amount of runoff rainwater is very critical to ensure the satisfactory level of underground water.
Experts use the term ‘rainwater harvesting’ to discuss the process of accumulation and deposition of rainwater for reuse on-site or underground. It goes without saying that the best way of letting rainwater go into the ground is keeping the importance of permeable surface in the head. For areas where hard surfaces are necessary, pavements should be built in a way so that it let the rainwater reach a permeable surface.
Building rain barrels is another effective way of reducing runoff and conserving rainwater. According to the tutorial, provided for the people of Minnesota, the USA by the state government, it needs only about half an hour to make a rain barrel at home. As Bangladesh yet to reach extreme water crisis conditions, building a community rain barrel is enough to tackle the present situation.
Rain gardens are another community mean of rainwater harvesting. These are concave-shaped gardens that collect runoff from downspouts, driveways and other hard surfaces. Plants that tolerate “wet feet” should be planted in the bottom, while plants that need less water are planted on the edges.
Rainwater harvesting has proven to be successful in other parts of the world. The 35 rain water harvesting systems working in NYC’s community gardens collect 422,900 gallons of water every year. That’s enough for 264,313 toilet flushes! The Institute of Water Management (IWM) shows if 60 percent of total rain water can be harvested in a city like Dhaka, it will be capable of providing 200 million liters of water every single day.
In India, the state of Tamil Nadu was the first to make the conservation of rain water compulsory for every building to avoid the rapid decrease in the underground water level. As a result of this, Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, saw a 50% rise in water level in five years. The other states gradually followed Tamil Nadu’s example and found surprising results. The state of Rajasthan receives a scant 400 mm of rainfall annually where the relatively dry western region of Rajshahi, receives 1600 mm of annual rainfall. The decade of the 1980s is Rajasthan is marked with the revival of the ancient tradition of creating Johads, large rain water reserve tanks. Now there are over 4,500 working Johads, lessening the water crisis of one of the driest places in this subcontinent.
Conclusion
In comparison with the vulnerable economy of our country, one can easily draw the conclusion that no quick solution in near at hand. First of all, the crisis should not be let to go out of control. This can easily be done by reducing the quantity of usage and wastage. Moreover, community measures are easy to be introduced and apparatuses are very available. As there is a wise saying, “All’s well that ends well”, the article is being concluded with good news. This November, Honorable LGRD minister has announced that the government is going to provide water supply lines in every slum area of the city within December 2015. One can raise doubt about whether it is really going to happen at last. But what can satisfy Dhaka dwellers is that this matter is taken to attention. The whole world today is talking about the impending severe water crisis. Bangladesh should not be left behind.
The writer is a student at the University of Development Alternative (UODA).
Photo Courtesy: The Daily Star
March 31, 2020
Aqua Stressed in Mega City, A Road to Prevent
Joni Alam: Water is essential to health, agriculture, energy, science, industry, transportation, and recreation- In short, to human existence- water is an incredibly complex matter, at once political, economic, legal, social and ecological in its nature. For any region, water fixed its national plan, domestic and external policies of the region’s principal actors. As water shortages occur and full utilization is reached these policies tend to be framed more and more in zero-sum terms, adding to the probability of discord. The foremost water supply of a country is used for its city men although the water supply and resources of a city are limited.
Bangladesh is home to 2.15% of the world’s population, and merely .24% of water resources. The country is almost entirely dependent on cross-boundary water flows for its supply.
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, faces severe water shortages. While the city needs 2.2 billion liters of water a day, it can only produce 1.9 million, said, Dhaka’s Water Supply and Sewerage Authority. Shortages are so severe that some areas of Dhaka will have no water for several days. Sometimes, the dwellers of this city do not get a single drop for the months, which makes lives miserable and they have to survive for months by buying water from WASA tankers, paying sometimes more than twice the official price which is not hygiene. As a consequence, most people have to suffer from diarrhea.
The city dwellers sometimes stop fetching water from the pump and use the supply water instead. This source of water is not properly managed, which will put the city at risk of severe water shortage in the future. When there is a supply of water from WASA, it is too dirty and unfit for consumption. Even despite boiling it for more than an hour, the bad smell doesn’t go. Water experts have called for the city to increase the usage of surface water sources such as ponds, rivers, and canals.
But surface water is being polluted across the Dhaka due to indiscriminate discharge of industrial wastes into the rivers so that Dhaka is going to face an acute problem in getting pure drinking water. It is the most acute fear for the middle class and poor people in this city as well.
We have seen most of the times, poor people like women, stand up with their empty jar in the open place for getting water and it happens sometimes by the children bring out a silent procession with a pitcher in the capital demanding smooth water supply. None of them are concern about the purity of the water. They only know, they have to survive their lives through that water. The city dwellers are dependent on readymade water rather than natural water instead of having a huge source of natural water because this water is being polluted and used improper ways. It is happening, of course, for the lack of taking adequate steps of proper authority.
It should be acknowledged that one of the causes of the water crisis is, of course, the continuously growing population of the city. Development of utility services has to assume a stable population, if population swells continuously, infrastructural facilities will be bitterly challenged to match up. The daily requirement of water in the city is 200 crore liters whereas WASA can supply at best 180 crore liters. As WASW’s main source is groundwater, the groundwater table keeps falling with an obvious risk to the environment.
In Bangladesh, Dhaka (capital) is the densest city with 12.8 million populations according to the official estimation but an unofficial estimate put this figure closer to 15 million, including 3.4 million living in slums. Another 300,000 to 400,000 people migrate to the city each year, which has witnessed a four-fold increase in its population in the last 25 years. According to the World Bank, the mega-city has the highest population growth in the world.
The city requires 2.2 billion liters a day, but can only produce 1.9 to 2 billion water while almost water comes out from ground resource. Specialist warns authority’s for its over-dependency on groundwater and suggest to usage the surface water. Dhaka City is located on the flat delta of three major international rivers; the city is surrounded by a network of rivers; the Buriganga to the south-west, the Turag to the north-west the Balu to the north-east and the Shitalakhya to the south. and it has been seriously damaged by the flood of river overflow and heavy rainfall in the rainy season. Dhaka receives about 2,000 mm of rainfall annually, of which almost 80% falls during the monsoon. Floods are one of the main natural hazards affecting the city and are associated with river water overflow and rainwater stagnation.
The city has become more vulnerable to intense urban flooding due to heavy and unpredictable rainfall in recent years. The drainage capacity of the city has also decreased alarmingly due to the development of unauthorized settlements. Illegal occupation of drainage canals and wetlands by land grabbers has further contributed to the problem. In the rainy season, the city mostly collapsed its water supply and drainage system due to it unplanned and unreliable construction, overloading, shortage of workforce of DWASA, lack of management and delaying in repairing of failed part and In the dry season from March to May water crisis looming for power shortage and outages. Many people didn’t get water for days because DWASA is unable to extract enough water to meet demand. And many people complained that water the rendered is undrinkable.
WASA runs 600 deep tube wells in the city to extract water, and there are also 2,000 private tube wells throughout the city. About 87 percent of Dhaka residents use groundwater, mostly from deep tube wells, while the rest use treated surface water. (IRINA 18 November 2014). Adding to the water crisis, dwellers of some areas were getting unusable foul-smelling water from Water Supply and Sewerage Authority. The stinky water was allegedly spreading waterborne diseases as well.
This water crisis creates a panic situation in the world’s largest megacity. Over 7,000 children die from diarrhea every year in Bangladesh and water-related diseases cause nearly a quarter of all deaths. (Water aid annual report 2013-14)
Water-related improvements are crucial to meet the Millennium Development Goals, reduce child mortality, and improve health and nutritional status in a sustainable way. In addition, they induce multiple social and economic benefits, adding importantly to enhanced well-being. It’s very important to create well planning and good management to reduce the water crisis. It’s needed to trace a forecasting project line about total water demand and area-based demand of Dhaka city by estimating projected population growth and projected economic development and also forecasting water supply by estimating Rainfall projection, surface water projection, and groundwater projection. Bangladesh’s government not yet pegged water police while many developing countries like Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia are cajoling the advantage of national water police. Ironically Bangladesh is a lower land country and we call our country mother of the river but we are immersed in a water crisis, not a shortage of water but improper regulation and pie situation in water authority.
The drainage system of Dhaka city is heavily dependent on the water level of peripheral river systems. During most of the monsoon period, the water level of the river remains higher than the water level inside the city area. Hence, the draining of water by gravity flow is not always possible.
Stronger action is needed now. Government steps in addressing this problem to date have been inadequate. Water problems stem mostly from an over-dependence on groundwater and the World Bank notes that the city obtains most of its water from over-exploited aquifers. Initiatives to cut the dependency and increase the use of surface water should have been taken much earlier. We have to use surface water to take by purifying and in this regard industrial attitude must be changed to pollute water.
In this connection, it can be attached importance to creating mass awareness of the matter. The government has to ensure setting up of Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) at all industrial units for proper waste management to avoid water pollution. As we know, most of the industries have no ETP facilities for waste management, so the government has to make it mandatory to set up ETP facilities at all industrial units to save the surface water from pollution. In this regard, the JU Environmental Science Department has already installed a wastewater treatment laboratory under the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) on the campus for purifying the industrial wastewater. The lab will provide a proper direction to the industrialists to operate its treatment in a sustainable way. We must ensure effluent treatment plants to be used by all industries. Also, the Water and Sewerage Authorities must ensure the use of human waste treatment plants.
Safe water is essential for our existence and is related to safe food which means with the rising absence of safe water, the food produced at homes and also in eating places will be unsafe and lead to stomach and gastrointestinal diseases. Those industries which do not use effluent treatment plants in the near future must be stopped until they start using effluent treatment plants. Our universities like BUET and JU must come up with the latest models of effluent treatment plants that would serve our requirements for safe water. Also, all canals and rivers and water bodies must be surveyed to see the extent of water pollution and treatment plants must be set up accordingly.
Other devices such as the Lifesaver bottle’ incorporate an extremely fine filter technology to filter out all bacteria and viruses. This makes the water drinkable from any source. The filter is useable for 15,000 liters of water. Once the filter is easily replaced and then the bottle is usable for another 15,000 liters. It can make water drinkable from any source, stops the spread of water-borne diseases, saves lives and can easily be served to the city dwellers. Products like the reverse Osmosis Sanitation system’ (ROSS) use movement generated by wheels to pass filters through a tank of water that cleans it of bacteria and viruses. It can carry 50 liters of water in one tank and stops the person from having to carry the volume of water as they can simply roll it. It also acts as a storage device for large quantities of water. It can completely clean the water of diseases or bacteria, prevents the spread of water-borne diseases, acts as a storage device. Governments and aid organizations can also invest in providing safe and clean water in the city areas in the form of taps or standpipes. The water for these taps could be sourced from boreholes that use unpolluted groundwater as their sources. It will reduce the number of deaths from drinking polluted water by providing a reliable clean source.
Overall, we should conscious to waste the water. Our government should take a hard step to control this situation in this city for the betterment of city dwellers.
(The writer is a lecturer of Mathematics of Comilla University. He can be reached at email: [email protected])
February 13, 2020
Bandarban Environment under threat for soil excavation
Tahjeeb Hossain Chowdhury: Bandarban Environment is under threat for soil excavation. The Soil of Lama Upazilla is under the threat of serious damage because of unethical soil excavation going in the area. The industrial excavation work going on in the area has seen troubling results for the Bandarban Area specifically the Lama Upazilla portion of it. The region has been excavating soil illegally and unethically and it is not good for the near future of the environment nor agriculture.
The Fakirkhola region of Lama has seen up to 150 acres of land being excavated in the name of industrial work. The nearby brick kilns, construction work, filling ponds and portions of the river. Because of the unethical and almost indiscriminate ways of excavation going on in the area, it has become quite difficult to keep the environmental balance of this area. The roads have gotten to the point of being utterly unusable. The trolleys and the trucks have been removing the topsoil which has been in demand for quite a while.
The Lama Upazilla has always faced a shortage of cultivable lands in its area. Despite this, the lands are being sold at a cheap rate, and businesses have been using the topsoil to do their industrial and construction work. The 4-5 feet of topsoil has been removed and it has worked in detriment of the nearby owners.
Local sources have named many local figures involved in highly damaging activities. Abdus Sukkur, Abdullah Prakash who is also known as Kala Shona, Rezaul Karim Manik, Saker Ullah are some of the local people engaged with these activities. The soil from the many parts of Lama is then transferred to the Dulahajra union in Cox’s Bazar. A syndicate working under Union Parishad Chairman Nurul Amin has been purchasing the soil.
The removers of these lands have used underhanded tactics to convince farmers to excavate the land, saying a virus or a parasite has been eating away the nutrients.
The Upazilla Agricultural Expansion Officer Sanjida Binte Alam has said that the main nutrition for vegetation to grow is in the topsoil and it would take about 15-20 years to accumulate again. Despite the warnings and notices, the owners have still been exercising their unethical reins. Necessary steps from law enforcement is needed now to alleviate the suffering of man and nature in the Lama district.
(The writer is a marketing graduate, content writer, and data science enthusiast from Dhaka, reach him at [email protected])
Photo Courtesy & Content Source: Dhaka Tribune
March 5, 2019
Teesta River Drying up, Ecosystem under Threat
Lalmonirhat’s Patgram Upazilla is the entry point of the Teesta River into Bangladesh. But India has built an irrigation Barrage at the Indian side of Teesta, specifically the Malbazar Town in Jalpaiguri which caused Teesta River Drying up. The barrage, unfortunately, is working as a blockade and diverting the water. As a result, the Bangladeshi portion of the Teesta River is Drying up.
The Teesta entrance to the Hatibandha Teesta Barrage sees a water flow of around 800-900 cusecs. But the same cannot be said for the area of the barrage to the Lalmonirhat-Kauna area. The water flow recorded there are 300-400 Cusescs.
Authorities from both India and Bangladesh have held talks about the river situation with practically no Results. The natural biodiversity and the ecosystem of the area are at risk. The drying up is in such a dire level that farmers are cultivating pumpkins in the dried-up land. The Hartibandha Barrage area is totally dried up.
With the total length of Teesta being 315 km, it covers a 115 km of critical areas within Bangladesh. The natural balance of the surrounding areas depend heavily on the wellbeing of the river.
With possibilities of talks coming up again in the near future, the welfare of the Teesta River will be of utmost importance. The talks regarding this is not a new occurrence. There has been discussion and debate regarding the river since 1983. A decisive point was reached back in 2007. The Joint river commission of Bangladesh and India decided to divide 4/5th of the river among themselves while the remaining portion would be free to let the river flow properly.
In 2011, a division with 42.5% in favor of India and 37.5% to Bangladesh was also discussed which like the previous settlement remains unsigned. Bangladeshi officials have to eke out a deal as soon as possible to save the waning ecosystem of the Teesta and the areas around it.
(The writer is a marketing graduate, content writer, and data science enthusiast from Dhaka, reach him at [email protected])
March 27, 2018