Bangladesh risks losing boro crops in about 40,000 square kilometer area if India and China divert waters from trans-boundary rivers, including the Brahmaputra, a seminar was told on Sunday.
“India plans to implement its river linking project to divert water from Brahmaputra River. China is going ahead to construct dams in upper areas of the river,” Sarafat Hossain Khan, project director at Bangladesh Water Development Board said.
Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) in collaboration with Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Water Resources Planning Organisation (WARPO) and European Union (EU) organised the workshop at WAPDA Building in the city.
The workshop was titled ‘Global Earth Observation for Integrated Water Resource Assessment (eartH2Observe).
Sarafat Khan said the country will face scarcity of water and Boro rice in about 40,000 square kilometer of area will be lost.
The Boro is the key crop that helped the country attain its food security.
Sarafat Khan stressed the need for introducing integrated watershed management in the basins of common rivers to deal with trans-boundary water problems in the South Asian region.
WARPO director (Technical) Saiful Alam on ‘Assessment of Water Availability in Brahmaputra Basin using eartH2Observe Data’.
Showing satellite image Saiful Alam said the Indian new government has given emphasis on implementation of river linking project to divert water while China has officially designed dams in the common rivers.
“If the plans are implemented, 40 percent of water from the common rivers will be diverted into other rivers that will rise salinity in the coastal region and affect the groundwater in Bangladesh,” he said.
He said cities like Dhaka and Khulna, which depend on water flow of Brahmaputra, will face severe water challenges due to withdrawal of water by upstream countries.
Saiful Alam suggested knowledge-based collaboration among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and China to resolve the water problems and face future water challenges.
Director general of Bangladesh Water Development Board Shahidur Rahman, WARPO director general Salim Bhuiyan, IWM excutive director Prof Dr Monowar Hossain, and its deputy executive director Abu Saleh Khan spoke at the workshop.
Source: UNBConnect
