Patna: With the Ganga rising sharply and threatening low-lying areas, CM Samrat Choudhary on Sunday urged West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari to open all gates of the Farakka barrage to facilitate the river’s flow and help ease the flood threat in Bihar.Samrat said he called up Adhikari on Sunday and apprised him of the prevailing situation. He said the West Bengal CM assured him he would act promptly.“The West Bengal CM said that due to the rising water level of the Ganga in Bihar, a flood situation is arising in many areas. In such circumstances, opening all the gates of Farakka barrage will help facilitate the flow of the Ganga river and may assist in controlling the flood situation in Bihar,” a press statement from the CM House said, quoting Samrat.The Ganga has risen above the danger mark in parts of Bihar, including Patna and Buxar, despite the state receiving 30% less rainfall than normal this year, according to official information. Flood experts have attributed the situation to rainfall in upstream catchments.The appeal comes amid Bihar’s renewed efforts to get its concerns addressed ahead of the renewal of the 1996 India-Bangladesh Ganga water-sharing treaty, which expires on Dec 12. The treaty governs sharing of Ganga waters at Farakka during the lean season from Jan 1 to May 31.On Friday, Samrat, deputy CM and water resources minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary and JD(U) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Kumar Jha met external affairs minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi. Vijay said Jaishankar assured the Bihar delegation that the state’s concerns over Farakka and the treaty would be taken up during the renewal process. The meeting also covered water resources, irrigation and flood management.Bihar has projected an additional requirement of 2,000 cusecs by 2050, while the internal committee reviewing the treaty has recommended 900 cusecs for the state’s drinking water and industrial requirements during the lean season.Earlier this month, Jha urged the Centre not to renew the treaty in its present form without addressing Bihar’s long-term water security, irrigation and development needs.
