In July 2010, Indian researcher Pia Malhotra wrote an article named, ‘Water Issues between Nepal, India & Bangladesh.’ In it, she said, political conflicts have also been intricated with the river water distribution. Consequently, river water sharing has now become more complicated than before. River water sharing issue is no more confined to sharing itself.
There are 54 rivers which flow through India to Bangladesh. But we have only been able to reach the treaty of Ganges regarding the water distribution among these 54 rivers. Although there are enough doubts about to what extent this treaty has been applicable in reality. Malhotra wrote that approximately 2 million Bangladeshis left for Assam, India. They have become a headache for Assam, which has complicated the river water distribution more complex than earlier. Today, even after a decade, her opinion still seems to be veritable.
The Feni River has not come flowing through India. It flows within Bangladesh only. Again, the river carries only the rain water rather than the ice-melting water of the Himalayas. Moreover, the river gets this rain water within Bangladesh’s area rather not the water that oozed through India.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh has agreed to give river Feni’s water to India, calling it an act of humanity. But questions arise, will Bangladesh be the only nation to show humanity? Does not it include India at the same time? How much this one-sided humanity will come in handy for Bangladesh? Bangladesh has to give 50 liters per second of water from the Feni River to India. In other words, every day or in 24 hours India will take 43 lac 20 thousand liters water from the Feni River.
According to the people, such act of humanity and unwise decision will cause shortage of irrigation water during the dry season. BUET student Abrar Fahad opposed this treaty which caused him his life. Abrar was brutally tortured and killed. This incident agitated the vox populi of this country. The country’s politics couldn’t but get affected by such incident. We will show humanity to India, on the other hand, will conduct ferocious inhumane political activities in the country, this cannot happen.
(First published on BD Views in 2020)
