About 120 rivers in the Rajshahi and Khulna division are dying or already dead. The Ganges barrage is planned to rejuvenate them by harvesting the rain water. It will will also prevent the saline intrusion in the rivers.
"If the Ganges Barrage is built, it is estimated that an additional 2.6 million tonnes of food grains would be produced and 240,000 tonnes of fish would be available. Furthermore, the Ganges Barrage would have provided more water to the river near the Rooppur Nuclear Plant, being constructed in Pabna with Russian assistance."
http://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/politics/why-does-bangladesh-need-the-ganges-barrage-104290
This project is part of the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, designed to mitigate the effects of Climate Change.
You know perfectly well about the economic benefits once this barrage is built. However, I must say that many more billions of dollars worth of supplementary jobs will have to be done to make the barrage construction project a success.
The 120 rivers or so that you have mentioned will require dredging and raising their banks. This should be complemented with the construction of many hundreds of sluice gates. It is too expensive for BD to support their construction when it is still a poor country and is without the right kind of engineering/survey manpower.
I have seen in my home district many unwise projects. The river banks have been raised high on both the sides of a flow. But, not a single regulatory water gate can be seen for miles. So, during monsoon the river water flows straight to the downstream Padma, from where it goes to the sea. On the other hand the peasants depend on rainfall and pump up underground water when it could have been different have there been water gates with regulatory system at some intervals along the banks.
Anyway, many and many sluice gates and other structures are a required component to make the Ganges barrage project a success. Controlling water within a small river is not the only issue. It must be supported by also a water management system like when to open the gates and when/where to close. I have not seen anything like this in BD.
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