Heavenly Ganga, The Farakka Barrage and its Atrocious Aftermath...
Reflections, Lessons, and Questions
Mr. Jatin H. Desai
What have been the effects of Farakka Barrage on Bangladesh?
Between 1975 and 1976, India withdrew the maximum amount of water from the Ganges. Several studies have been carried out, attempting to determine the agricultural, economical and ecological effect on Bangladesh at that time and the repercussions since.
The water levels were at the lowest they had ever been during the dry season of 1976, causing the suction pumps, hand pumps and hand operated tube wells to be incapable of operating in such shallow water. Also, an increase in salinity was discovered, most likely the result of sea water traveling upland because the fresh water downward flow had decreased.
For instance, in the town of Khulna, which is situated on the Rhupsa-Pussur and is particularly sensitive to changes in the Ganges flow, the saline intrusion was considered to be the most dramatic. Khulna is a major area of industry in Bangladesh and it appears that the salinity changes have caused industrial losses of millions of U.S. dollars. This is only an estimate but, if we consider the possible occurrences when industries are faced with unexpected levels of salt in their water, such as production delays, mechanical failure, increased corrosion, then such losses are indeed plausible.
The effect on agriculture in Bangladesh is a source of dispute - Bangladeshis believe the Farakka Barrage is responsible for reduced rice and other crop yields but India rejects this claim. The Sundarbans (worlds largest estuarine forest) have also shown signs of deterioration through increased salinity, chlorine levels, and insufficient nutrients in the water. There are mixed conclusions as to the ecological effects of the Farakka Barrage, but there is a strong presumption that the barrage has caused declining fishing.
The damage to agriculture, farming, and industry has been in the thousands of crores People living in the area, claim that the increased salinity is threatening their crops, industry and animal drinking water. It is unlikely that Bangladesh will receive compensation for the losses they claim, since in so many areas, it has been impossible to prove that Farakka is solely responsible. Nevertheless, it is beyond doubt that the people of South Bengal have suffered greatly as a consequence of the Farakka Barrage.
The damage caused to the local agriculture industry due to the lack of availability of water is irreparable, to say the least. It has been calculated that if Bangladesh had access to the same quantity of water as before, the country could have produced 36 lakh tons more crops valued at 2300 crores of Taka ($335 Million USD).
Agriculture being the mainstay of the economy of this tiny south Asian nation, there is no way to recoup this devastating loss. Increase in salinity in the vast south-western region of Bangladesh is having ruinous effect in various ways, from diminished crop-production, fish-catch and power generation to reduced industrial output. Some species of valuable trees in the Sundarbans are also known to be disappearing consequent upon salinity increase.
The damage due to withdrawal of waters at Farakka has been so wide and multidimensional that it is difficult to estimate. However, careful estimates put it to the tune of 11 thousand crores of Taka (almost $2 Billion USD). This does not include damage to the environment which defies any precise calculation. What is more, if the rate at which the flow in the Ganges is dwindling continues, the river which has been flowing since thousands of years will be reduced only to a gigantic trough without any water therein.
The Implausible Devastation
As inhumane and intolerable as it sounds, this is not the worst. To experience today, how the dam has affected life and livelihoods on the Ganges in this part of the world, one needs to travel to Panchanandapur, a small town in West Bengal. On a map, it appears to lie well inland from the Ganges. But today, something unbelievable has happened to Panchanandapur and the village's approximately 5,000 residents.
Panchanandapur is being swallowed by the Ganga
In the middle of 2007, it was precariously on the banks of the Ganga instead of its original origin approximately six miles westward. Mr. Kalyan Rudra, a geography professor in Calcutta, explains that the dam forced the Ganges to shift almost six miles eastward over the last 30 years, eroding most of this village. By last year, an indigo factory, sugar mill, hospital, police station and a two-story government building were all swallowed by the river among other settlements, while Ganges was moving towards the small village.
Today, less then ten months later, the Ganges has completely swallowed Panchanandapur. In fact it has been moving so fast, that now, the original western part of the town which was once underwater has reappeared on the other side of the river bank in Bangladesh. Can you imagine? The local West Bengalese farmers have actually been able to identify their land property on the other side of the river after the river swallowed it few years back.
As envisioned, the Farakka barrage was built at the narrowest point on the Ganges to divert water to Calcutta to the south and flush out the silt that was clogging up its port. But scientists now say the project was ill-conceived from the start: Water upstream from the dam carried massive amounts of silt, dropping it directly behind the dam. The buildup almost 700 million tons annually has clogged the dam's gates and raised the river bed more than 20 feet. The silt buildup has also forced the river to change its course, swallowing villages and buildings.
So here you are. Imagine you are a West Bengalese who lived all your life in this small village and was the owner of the generational business and the property. Due to the Farakka barrage, your entire lifes belongings are gone literally overnight. Your family is homeless and without shelter. Your children have no future ahead any longer. You cannot just get up and go, because all you know is to either fish, or run a small business for the locals. Your most prized possession is the land property that you can pass down to your children and the future generations. You have nothing left to run with no single belonging. You are not the only one. Everyone you know is also going through the same tragedy, trying to support each other. You are asking the deep questions - why did the government do this, and why to me and my family? And why did God do this? And what is there to live for any longer? and so on.
Somehow you survive through the wild destruction caused by heavy rains and the trajectory of Ganga - but not everyone you know was lucky enough to save their families. One day, after months of survival instincts and support of the villagers, you discover that pieces of Panchanandapur village are reappearing on the other side of Ganga. With brevity, you take a small boat and cross the river to find your own property. Sure enough, you do. You are able to recognize the landmarks to prove your belongings and that of your neighbors.
Alas, you can feel some Divine Hand in all this. How could this be? You are shocked. Maybe, you tell your self, this was all due to past Karma, and its over. Somehow you will figure out how to get back on track. You and some of the villagers are now starting to settle into this newly found land on the other side of Ganga.
As interesting as it sounds, its not over.
These impacted villagers on the new side of Ganga, still consider themselves part of West Bengal. The shift in geography has opened a territory question; neither West Bengal nor Bangladesh recognizes these displaced villagers. These villagers are country-less as of today.
The Real Insights from Man-made Disasters
Originally, in early 1960s, the Farakka Barrage was envisioned to revive industrial survival of Calcutta by the Indian government. Here, Man (primarily the government officials) decided to change the course of the Goddess Ganga to create materialist benefit for himself. Man put all of his intellect, spent millions of dollars, poured resources, and muscled his political power to fulfill selfish goals that of industrial success. All of this was done in the name of his country.
Calcutta (Kolkata) has benefitted by redirecting the waters of the Ganga, but not without consequences
The tide of change that has engulfed humanity in the last two centuries - through the industrial revolution and beyond, has inevitably, and visibly, left its mark on the Ganges. It is true that due to the Farakka Barrage, the city of Calcutta has greatly benefited in numerous categories, including commerce.
These same industries as of now, unfortunately, have accelerated discharge into this river as well. Once, Ganga was known for its purity, now it is rendered unsafe for consumption. While it used to be considered meritorious to die and be cremated in Benares, the very belief causes further pollution of the river - given the un-sustainable rate at which partially cremated cadavers are dumped into the river.
The dawn of the information revolution and the internet has brought thoughts from around the world in close contact as never before. As a newly generated affluence generated by the boom in the information industry spreads across the world, life styles across the Indian subcontinent are undergoing a sea change. It is only a matter of time, before a semi-urban style of life will establish itself in hitherto remote areas.
Man, will continue to exploit the nature to gain materialistic success. He will justify the decisions without deeper, long term effects they might have. Because, he has armed himself with belief that materialists growth is the only way to define success at individual level, at level of society, and at the grander level of political strength, which is, in fact, the ultimate self-deception.
The Self-Deception
In spite of these waves of change, the core of the eastern belief in the interconnectedness of life remains unchanged. The simple act of thanksgiving - through the offering of a clay lamp, on a leaf with a few petals of fresh flowers to the life sustaining waters of the Ganges, at the culmination of the Ganga Aarti - carried out even today - night after night at Haridwar, where the Ganga enters the plains, is a standing testimony to this immutable undercurrent of the religious thought. Here lies the irony.
As explicit and visible the traditions are today, one needs to wonder how deeply rooted are the human unconscious behaviors. It is very easy for us to start blaming the short-sightedness of those who were involved with designing, approving, funding, and building the Farakka Barrage in early 70s. It is also very easy, now, for us to see the deeper insights of destruction that was not available before the project was undertaken.
I wonder if such insights were available, whether the project would have continued. I question myself, if the engineers who built the barrage, knew about the potential design problems that would force Ganga to divert itself, leading to such massive destruction to human lives and uproot streams of villages near by. I wonder if the business community in Calcutta cared about the possible danger the barrage would have to Bangladesh and West Bengal neighbors before it was built.
What is critically important is for all of us to look around at the large scale decisions that we, the human beings, are passively or actively making everyday around us that may be having negative impact on other lives. It is not too hard to find other current examples the Afghan war, the Iraqi invasion, the unrest in Kashmir, etc. I wonder how many of us are supporting (with voice or without opposing voice) societal projects that may have negative environmental sustainability forecast in the long term.
We, as our beloved Bhagawan loving calls us, the monkey minds, spend all of our time living within our small cocoon. We are, generally, too busy to understand or act for anything that does not belong to us or our livelihood. We have outsourced our decision making to the ego within which operates on autopilot. We have convinced ourselves that life needs to be simplified by acquiring worldly-pleasures while ignoring the dirty headlines. That is the job of the government, we say, why else do we pay taxes? The self-deception is so strong that we have fully convinced our self that this is the reality and everything is Karma. We might even say, Well
the barrage was supposed to happen. It had to occur, because it was meant to be. It was written in the grand plan that those villagers had to pay their karmic debt. This is the self-absorbed ego with a veil covering the reality.
[About Writer: Mr. Jatin Desai is the Co-founder and CEO of The DeSai group based in Connecticut, USA. A seasoned business executive, strategic advisor, and a coach for senior leadership teams, his firm has among its clients many of the Fortune 1000 companies. Jatin has written papers, addressed numerous conferences, and conducted training workshops for corporate executives on many subjects including Living with Human Values and Spirituality in the Workplace. More importantly, he has been a devotee of Bhagavan Baba since 1975 and has been an active office bearer at the local and regional level of the Sai Organisation in the northeast region of USA. Additionally, Jatin also guides young children as a teacher in the Sathya Sai Education program in USA every week.]
Feature Articles: Heavenly Ganga, The Farakka Barrage and its Atrocious Aftermath... - May 2008
.........bangladesh will not go to anywhere
