Farakka barrage flayed

THE BANGLADESH government has said the ecosystem in the southwestern part of the country is threatened by the excessive diversion of water from the Ganga at the Farakka barrage, 19.2 km from its border, writes Mustafa Kamal Majumder in a Panos report.

The spokespersons say the flow of the river had declined drastically from earlier peaks of 70,000 cusecs to 9,000 cusecs during the dry months of March and April this year. They also reveal that losses in agriculture, fisheries and land degradation cost the country $675 million a year.