Staff Reporter:

BNP Secretary General and Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that the people of this country are deprived of fair share of water from India due to the then Awami League government.

He said that the Farakka Barrage, which was experimentally launched by the Indian government, has now become a death trap.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made this comment in a message given on the occasion of ‘Farakka Day’ on May 16, on Friday.

He said, “Farakka Day is a historic and significant day of our national movement. 49 years ago on this day, the call of the undisputed oppressed people’s leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, millions of people from all over the country participated in a historic procession long march towards Farakka in the struggle to get a fair share of the water of the Ganges River flowing from India to Bangladesh according to international law.”

India unilaterally withdrew the water of the same river by building a dam at the Farakka point of the Ganges River. As a result, the northwestern region of Bangladesh has almost turned into a desert, the BNP Secretary General commented.

He said, “The then Awami League government ignored the people’s opinion and allowed India to operate the Farakka Dam on an experimental basis for a few days. But since that dam is still in operation, it has now become a death trap.”

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir claimed that the people of this country were deprived of their fair share of water due to the then Awami government.

In his message, he has said that due to this deprivation and the fear of people’s suffering due to natural disasters in the country, the wise and farsighted oppressed leader Maulana Bhashani, along with the people, protested to the Indian government by holding a historic procession towards Farakka and brought the matter to the attention of the world community. Since then, the issue of the Farakka Dam, which has caused a massive human disaster, has been widely discussed in the international arena. I think the significance of Farakka Day is still very relevant today. The unilateral withdrawal of water in favor of Bangladesh by building dams one after another on 54 common rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh without paying attention to international laws and conventions has become dangerous for the existence of Bangladesh. Signs of Bangladesh becoming a barren wasteland have already emerged. Therefore, on May 16, 1976, in the struggle to realize its just dues, the historic procession of the people led by Maulana Bhashani moved forward from Rajshahi towards Farakka with fearless and courageous steps. So, every year on May 16, the ‘Historical Farakka Day’ motivates the people to realize any rights.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir wished the success of all the programs organized by various organizations on the occasion of Farakka Day.