After Mamata, now Nitish urges Modi to address Farakka issue
NEW DELHI: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called on Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday urging him to intervene in the Farakka barrage issue and save Bihar from the ravaging floods, which occur every year even if the state receives deficit rainfall.
Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had in 2015 requested the Prime Minister to address the Farakka barrage issue. She had urged the Centre to repair all the gates of the dam.
Blaming Farakka barrage for the situation, Kumar said that the barrage was responsible for increasing siltage in the Ganga basin. Due to this, Ganga is gradually failing to store the amount of water it used to earlier, leading to flood-like conditions despite not receiving proportionate amount of rainfall, Kumar added. He further emphasised that the barrage should be demolished to save Bihar and other flood-prone states, including West Bengal.
“The silts coming from Farakka barrage get deposited in the Ganga that results in overflow of water in the river. Desilting of Ganga as well as the barrage is needed as it’s the only solution to avoid the almost annual occurrence of floods,” Kumar said, adding that it’s the curse of the barrage that 28 districts of Bihar are in the grip of floods even after the state has witnessed 14 per cent less rainfall.
Nitish also linked the Modi government’s ambitious Namami Gange project with better silt management in Bihar, saying if attention is not paid to the situation; it will then also put a question mark on the programme’s success.