West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for replacement of Farakka barrage gates.
Earlier this month, one of the gates of the barrage collapsed resulting in the free flow of water to Bangladesh.
State’s Irrigation Minister Rajib Banerjee told journalists Ms Banerjee has sought repair of all the 109 gates of the barrage in a time-bound manner. The barrage was constructed in 1975 on river Ganga in Murshidabad district.
Stating that most of the gates of the barrage are old and need repair, Mr Banerjee said that so far only 22 have them have been replaced.
The minister also pointed out that the collapse of gate number 49 earlier this month has lead to free flow of water to Bangladesh and the situation may worsen if other gates collapse.
A few weeks ago, Ms Banerjee had written to the Prime Minister after making a visit to Bangladesh.
PTI adds:
Rajib Banerjee said during his recent meeting with Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti at Siliguri that he had apprised her of the poor condition of all the lock gates at Farakka.
The Union minister had told him that all the lock gates of the barrage needed to be changed phase-wise by 2017, Mr Banerjee said, adding that she had also apprised the Prime Minister of the matter so that a time-bound programme in this regard could be initiated.
The barrage is located 17 km from the Bangladesh border.
Gate number 49 was washed away on March 15, leading to free flow of water down the barrage. Following this, authorities have diverted excess water to a feeder canal and towards Bangladesh.
The two countries had signed a landmark 30-year agreement in 1996 on sharing of Ganga waters.
