Farakka Day: Human Chain in Rajshahi Demands Fair Share of Ganges Water

A human chain was formed in Rajshahi on Saturday to mark the historic Farakka Day, drawing widespread participation from social, cultural, and professional organizations demanding Bangladesh's rightful share of international river waters. 

The Rajshahi unit of ‘Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon’ (Save the River Movement) organized the program at the city's Shaheb Bazar Zero Point under the banner slogan, “No more treaties of subjugation, we demand our fair share of Ganges water.”

Speakers at the human chain highlighted that since the construction of the Farakka Barrage, the Padma River and various other interconnected rivers across the northwestern region of the country have suffered a severe water crisis. 

They pointed out that the reduced navigability of these water bodies has triggered negative impacts on local agriculture, the environment, biodiversity, and river transport. 

Every year during the dry season, vast sandbars emerge across the bed of the Padma, which the speakers noted has put river-dependent livelihoods and public life at grave risk.

Emphasizing the existential nature of the crisis, the speakers declared, “If the rivers survive, the country will survive.” 

Consequently, they stressed that alongside raising public awareness to protect the nation's waterways, effective initiatives at the state level are absolutely crucial. 

They called on the entire nation to remain united in securing its rightful share of the Ganges water, adding that Bangladesh is continuously being deprived of its fair share in the distribution of international river waters. 

The speakers asserted that the government must take more effective and stronger diplomatic initiatives to ensure the just distribution of the Ganges water, while simultaneously demanding the adoption of a long-term national plan to protect the country’s rivers.

The program was presided over by Iftekharul Alam Masud, President of the Rajshahi unit of Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon, and was conducted by the organization’s General Secretary Ahsan Habib. 

Prominent figures present at the human chain included Wasim Hossain, advisor of the Rajshahi unit of Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon; Sadiqul Islam Swapan, Joint General Secretary of the organization; and Advocate Parvez Toufiq Zahedi, General Secretary of the Rajshahi Bar Association, alongside numerous other regional leaders from various social, cultural, and professional organizations.