Padma Barrage construction likely in 5-6 months: Anne

The construction of the Padma Barrage is likely to begin in five to six months, Water Resources Minister Md Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anne has said.

“The government is already working on the Ganga River water-sharing treaty as the existing one is due to expire on December 12 this year,” the minister said at a seminar organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) in the capital on Tuesday.

Forhad Hossain Azad, State Minister for Water Resources, was present as the special guest, while Prof Asif Nazrul, former adviser to the interim government and professor of law at the University of Dhaka, was the keynote speaker.

He said that after the expiry of the existing treaty on December 12, Bangladesh wants a “guaranteed clause” in the Ganga water-sharing treaty.

“Our biodiversity is closely related to Ganga River water. The neighbouring country is controlling the river and has taken a good number of projects upstream, but they do not share the real data on water with us,” he said.

Among others, Professor M Feroze Ahmed, Emeritus Professor of Stamford University Bangladesh and former professor at BUET, and experts on international water resources affairs were present at the seminar.

The programme was chaired by Prof Borhan Uddin Khan, Chairman of BILIA, while the welcome address was delivered by Professor Muhammad Ekramul Haque, Dean (Acting), Faculty of Law, University of Dhaka and honorary director of BILIA.