Indian, BD experts talk Ganga Barrage project tomorrow

Indian technical experts on waters resources will sit with the Bangladesh's experts on Tuesday to discuss Ganga Barrage Project.
An eight member technical team led by the Director, Central Water Commission and Chief Engineer of HSO M. Bhopal Sing arrives in Dhaka today (Monday) to attend a meeting scheduled to be held from October 25 to 28 and two members from Dhaka will meet with the team,  according to the Foreign Ministry sources.
Evaluating the project document, India expressed concern and opposes the idea saying that 'the dam could cause flooding in India.'
New Delhi sent a letter to the Bangladesh government in early 2015 saying Indian technical experts had evaluated project documents sent by Dhaka and were concerned about the dam that could cause flooding in India. Under these circumstances the water experts of both the countries are to discuss the matter on Tuesday in Dhaka.  
To keep the project operational, Bangladesh wants a participatory engagement of India in the Ganga Barrage project for ensuring adequate water flow along the trans-boundary Ganga. If India does not release adequate water of the river upstream, the project will fall flat like the Teesta Barrage- which did not benefit Bangladesh because India unilaterally withdraws water from the river.
Water Resources Ministry and Foreign Ministry have exchanged all related information with   India since the inception of this project aiming to include India into this mega project as experts feels it will be a hard task for Bangladesh to implement the large dam single-handedly.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed on developing Ganges Barrage on the Padma River in Bangladesh under a joint venture project between Bangladesh and India.
Previously, several times the officials of the Foreign Ministry sat with the officials of the Water Resources Ministry to make a final check list, however, an official said, "We are taking all out preparations to discuss the issue."
In 1975, India constructed the Farakka Barrage across the river that flows through both countries to divert 40,000 cusecs of water into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River in West Bengal to flush out sediment deposits from Kolkata Harbour.
This has considerably reduced the flow of the Ganga, affecting agriculture, fishery, forestry, navigation, domestic water supply and industrial development in Bangladesh. The world's largest mangrove forest Sundarban is now under threat from rising salinity caused by lack of water flow during the dry season.
Meanwhile, India in the letter to Bangladesh predicted that even a slight increase in the water level of the river in Bangladesh side would cause huge submergence in areas of India bordering Bangladesh.
Bangladesh started work on the proposed Ganges Barrage Project during the tenure of the previous ruling Awami League government in the late 1990s giving top priority to the US$4 billion Ganga Barrage Project.
The project, welcomed by experts as an initiative that will transform the region but crippled due to lack of funds, will come up at Pangsha in Rajbari district, 98 kilometres downstream from the Farrakka Barrage built on the River Ganga in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Bangladesh has already completed a feasibility study and the design for the proposed 2.1 kilometre-long dam, due to be constructed at Pangsha in Rajbari district.
According to official sources, the proposed barrage will create a reservoir, covering 62,500 acres, with a capacity of about 2,900 million cubic litres of water. The reserved water will be diverted to 26 districts through regional rivers in the south-west area. In addition, a 100 MW hydropower plant will also be built on the barrage.
The release of water from the reservoir through the river system of the Ganga dependent area will help manage siltation problems in river channels and preserve biodiversity and forest resources in the Sundarban, he added.
About $4 billion is needed to implement the Ganges Barrage Project. Two Chinese companies - HydroChina and Sinohydro - have also shown interest in financing the project and submitted proposals to the Finance Ministry.