Lesson 5/56 min
Dams, Farakka, Teesta and river institutions
Farakka Barrage (Ganga/Padma)
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Location | Manoharpur (Jangipur, Murshidabad), West Bengal, India; on the Ganga |
| Distance from the border | 16.5 km (11 miles) (books and the 13th BCS answer) |
| Construction | Started 1961 (books); trial operation 1975 (Zubair: finished 1974) |
| Length | 2,240 m (7,350 ft) (Khandokar) |
| Reaction | In 1976 Maulana Bhashani led the long march to Farakka; Farakka Day is 16 May (books) |
| First water pact | 18 April 1975 (temporary, for the trial operation) |
| Zubair | Called the ‘death trap’; listed as a serious problem in United Nations Agenda 21 |
| Bangladesh's proposal | Reservoirs in Nepal to raise the Ganga flow |
Watch out: The border distance of 16.5 km is the book figure and the BCS answer; Wikipedia and news say 18 km. Wikipedia gives construction 1962-1970, operation 21 April 1975 and length 2,304 m. So treat the years, length and distance as book figures; they are not in the quiz. Later agreements: 5 November 1977 (5 years) and 12 December 1996 (30 years). Bhashani's long march in May 1976 is confirmed; the 16 May date for Farakka Day was not matched with another source.
Tipaimukh Dam (Barak river)
| Item | Khandokar | Zubair |
|---|---|---|
| Location | 100 km east of the Sylhet border; at the meeting of the Barak and Tuivai; 500 m from Manipur state, India | In Manipur, India; 100 km from the Bangladesh border; at the Barak-Tuivai meeting |
| Height; length | 162.8 m; 390 m | 180 m (590 ft); 500 m (1,500 ft) |
| Power; cost | 1,500 MW; US$ 1.35 billion | — |
| Builder; start | North Eastern Electric Power Corporation; from 2010 | NEPCO; 2005 |
Watch out: The two books give different sizes for Tipaimukh. The web matches Khandokar's 162.8 m height and 390 m length, but the project is still listed as ‘planned’ there. The books' storage figure of 15.9 million cubic metres could not be matched and is left out.
Teesta: barrage and irrigation
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Bangladesh's Teesta barrage | At Doani, Hatibandha upazila, Lalmonirhat (Zubair); the country's biggest irrigation project (Teesta barrage project, Lalmonirhat) |
| Irrigated area (Zubair) | 5,40,000 hectares in Nilphamari, Rangpur and Dinajpur |
| Dalia point (Zubair) | On the Nilphamari-Lalmonirhat border |
| India's Gajoldoba barrage | In Jalpaiguri on the Teesta; 65 km upstream of the border, built 1998 (Khandokar); 60 km upstream in Malbazar subdivision (Zubair) |
Watch out: The distance and year of Gajoldoba differ by source: 60/65 km and 1998 in the books; about 90 km and the late 1980s elsewhere. So they are not in the quiz. The book figure for irrigated land, 92 lakh acres (about 48% of cultivated land), could not be matched.
More dams and river control
- Kaptai dam: on the Karnaphuli at Kaptai, Rangamati, about 1962; hydropower and an artificial lake; the only Bangladeshi river used for power
- Buckland Bund: on the Buriganga to protect Dhaka, 1864
- River training: placing big stones or concrete blocks on the bank to turn the current and stop erosion
- River erosion is a natural disaster; rivers near the sea have a stronger current and break their banks more
- India has been building Tipaimukh on the Barak since 2010 (Khandokar); Gajoldoba was built in 1998 (Khandokar)
River institutions (Water Resources Ministry)
| Institution | Facts |
|---|---|
| River Research Institute (RRI) | Founded 1977 in Dhaka; moved to Faridpur on 1 July 1989 (Khandokar: Harukandi; Zubair: Bhanga); three wings: hydraulic research, geotechnical research, finance and administration (Zubair) |
| Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) | Formed in 1972; protects bilateral interests with India; aims at flood control cooperation and better river navigability |
| National River Conservation Commission | Dhaka; founded 3 August 2014; work began 3 September 2014 (books) |
| First water museum | Pakhimara village, Kalapara, Patuakhali; 29 December 2014; NGO ActionAid; shows river-based life and culture |
| Bangabandhu Fisheries Heritage | The Halda river; December 2020 (the books say the 22nd; one gazette source says effective 21 December) |
Turag: the river as a ‘living entity’
- A river of Dhaka and Gazipur; winding; 62 km long, 82 m average width; Water Development Board number 25 of the north-central region (books)
- In 2019 a landmark High Court ruling gave the Turag the status of a ‘living entity’ (legal person); the ruling applies to all rivers, with the River Conservation Commission as guardian
- Dhaka is ringed by four rivers and the Turag is one (Khandokar)
Past questions (institutions and dams)
| Question | Answer | Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the River Research Institute? | Faridpur | 33rd (Zubair: 30th) BCS |
| How far is Farakka from the border? | 16.5 km | 13th BCS |
| A main aim of the Joint Rivers Commission? | Improving the navigability of both countries' rivers | 12th BCS |
| Mahasthangarh is on which river? | Karatoya | 13th BCS |
| Longest/largest river? | Padma (Khandokar, citing the River Conservation Commission of 24 September 2023; the book prints no answer to the old question) | 12th BCS etc. |
| Which nad changed course after a quake? | Brahmaputra (1787) | PSC |
Check yourself
Where and when was Bangladesh's first water museum founded?
At a glance
- 1
Farakka Barrage: Manoharpur, West Bengal, on the Ganga; 16.5 km from the border (books); Bhashani's long march 1976.
- 2
Tipaimukh: at the Barak-Tuivai meeting, Manipur, 162.8 m × 390 m; the Teesta barrage project is the country's biggest irrigation project.
- 3
Gajoldoba is India's barrage on the Teesta in Jalpaiguri; Kaptai dam on the Karnaphuli (about 1962); Buckland Bund on the Buriganga (1864).
- 4
River Research Institute: 1977 Dhaka, 1989 Faridpur; Joint Rivers Commission 1972; River Conservation Commission 2014.
- 5
First water museum: Pakhimara, Kalapara, 29 December 2014; Halda Bangabandhu Fisheries Heritage December 2020; Turag 2019.