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The Hindu
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
From The Hindu 50 years ago - May 20, 1975 - Farakka barrage to be commissioned tomorrow
New Delhi, May 19: Farakka Barrage — the largest project of its kind — will be dedicated to the nation on May 21, by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation, Mr. Jagjivan Ram. The Farakka Barrage complex has been designed primarily for the preservation and maintenance of Calcutta Port which has been greatly affected over the years because of decreased flow of water into the Hooghly on the bank of which Calcutta is located. Situated 200 miles north of Calcutta the project has been designed and executed by Indian engineers and workers. The bed width of the feeder canal is greater than that of the Suez Canal. Hooghly is another name of Bhagirathi in its lower reaches which in its turn is one of the two channels into which the Ganga bifurcates about 40 km downstream of Farakka. The other stream is called the Padma which flows about 90 km along the boundary between India and Bangladesh before joining the Brahmaputra. Only three centuries ago the Ganga waters used to flow into the Bhagirathi thereby ensuring enough flow of water into the Hooghly. Of late the Ganga waters flowed largely through the Padma. In the process Hooghly was denuded of water and Calcutta, the premier Indian port, was adversely affected. Calcutta is the main port providing commercial outlet and inlet for the vast hinterland of northern India extending over West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, part of Orissa, U.P. and Sikkim. Calcutta Port serves Bhutan and Nepal also. With the completion of the Farakka Barrage silt free water will flow throughout the year in the Hooghly. This will in turn increase the navigable depth in the riverine approach of the port which will be able to receive large ships and handle bigger volume of cargo, thereby improving the economy of the vast hinterland.
The Hindu
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
From The Hindu, April 22, 1975: Water begins to flow into Farakka canal
New Delhi, April 21: Water started flowing into the Farakka feeder canal at 11-00 hours this morning. An announcement to this effect was made amidst cheers in the Lok Sabha to-day by the Agriculture and Irrigation Minister, Mr. Jagjivan Ram, at the end of a statement on the Indo-Bangladesh agreement on Farakka reached in Dacca last week. Mr. Jagjivan Ram, who led the Indian delegation to the talks at Dacca from April 16 to 18 said: 'The House will be glad to know that an understanding has been reached during this meeting which enables the Farakka barrage to be operated and the feeder canal to be run during the current lean period.' He laid a copy of the agreement on the table of the House. Mr. Jagjivan Ram said: 'Since the discussions regarding allocation of the minimum flows of the Ganga during the lean months are continuing between the two Governments, the present agreement is a provisional arrangement to enable the running of the feeder canal. 'This agreement is a breakthrough for the Farakka issue and sets an outstanding example of mutual understanding and accommodation of the two neighbouring countries in the development of the waters of an international river. It is hoped that this understanding will further reinforce the relations between the two countries and would enable expeditious settlement by negotiations of the Farakka issue on a lasting basis.'
