Ganga activists oppose plan to build barrages

Non-political groups from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar Jharkhand and West Bengal have joined hands to oppose Haldia-Allahabad Waterways project. They have written to chief ministers of Ganga-adjoining states to oppose construction of series of barrages on Ganga to implement the project.

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has already voiced against the project and written a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to stop the construction of multiple barrages on the river. 

He has also demanded a comprehensive debate over the project taking into account all the aspects including environmental one.

Anil Prakash, Convenor of Ganga Mukti Andolan, the organisation of  rights groups has written a letter to four chief ministers, Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Hemant Soren (Jarkhand), Akhilesh Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) and Harish Rawat(Uttarakhand) to urge them to support agitation against the project, as Bihar CM Manjhi has done.

“The project will reduce the great river of the country into number of lakes and lakhs of people will lose their livelihood,” says the letter that was released in a meeting in the National Capital convened to mobilise support for the agitation.  

It alleges that the government is violating the principle of federalism by taking decisions without consulting concerned states.

“The government of India is taking decisions without consulting the states concerned and without providing any information to the people affected by these decisions,” it says. 

“The government of India is planning to build a cascade of barrages on the Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia, reportedly enabling movement of large cargo and tourist ships, which is likely convert the river into a number of reservoirs,” says the letter.
 
Activists have raised the issue of adverse effect on fish reproduction and the huge deposition of sedimentation.