Bd political parties pledge on water in polls manifestos

Dhaka, Dec 25 – The International Farakka Committee (IFC) New York has noted with satisfaction that almost all the parties contesting the upcoming national election in Bangladesh have made mention of river-water and environment in their election manifestos. The commitments made in the manifestos would in future help these parties and alliances to decide on their plans in this vital question of life and death of the people in the future. The IFC has been working for the last three decades to create awareness about river-water and environment on which the physical existence of Bangladesh, the life and livelihood of its people, and biodiversity depends. Almost all the political parties of Bangladesh have taken part in seminars, opinion-exchange meetings and human chains organized by IFC to raise awareness about the manmade disasters that unsustainable management of common rivers poses to the country. By giving space in their manifestos to incorporate pledges on river-water and environment, the political parties have demonstrated their awareness about the issue.
The Left Democratic Front in his manifesto has said, its target is to ensure signing of the UN-Water Courses Convention of 1997 in the interest of finding solutions to inter-country differences and conflicts over common rivers, and formulate and implement a comprehensive water policy and expand the irrigation system.
LDF component the Communist Party of Bangladesh in its manifesto pledges, in addition to signing the Water Courses Convention, to formulate and implement a short and long-term plan keeping in view the geographical and environmental aspects to solve the problems of water management and flood; and to take initiatives at national, interstate, regional and international levels; secure due share of water from the neighbouring country; plus the framing and implementation of a comprehensive water police and expansion of the irrigation system.
Yer another LDF component Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal has pledged to free all rivers including the Sundarbans from pollution and grabbing and the give proper punishment to grabbers of rivers, forests, and hills.
The newly formed Jatiya Oikya Front has said in its manifesto that water sharing of all common rivers including the Teesta and all bilateral problems including the Rohingya issue would be solved speedily through talks.
Oikya Front component Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has said, initiatives would be taken with the spirit of regional mutual cooperation to secure a due share of international rivers flowing through Bangladesh on the basis of international river laws.
The Bangladesh Awami League in the objectives and plan section of its manifesto has said that cooperation in all areas including the Teesta water sharing, bilateral trade, and security cooperation would continue. Initiatives would continue for basin-wide joint management of common rivers and harnessing of hydroelectricity on the basis of sub-regional cooperation with India-Nepal-Bhutan.
The Workers’ Party of Bangladesh, a component of the AL-led 14-Party Alliance has in its manifesto called for maintaining the navigability of the rivers on which soil fertility, environmental balance and the economic backbone of the country stands. The geopolitical context of Bangladesh and the relevant countries of the region is also involved. All efforts should be continued to maintain the navigability of all inter-country rivers including the Padma, the Brahmaputra, the Teesta, the Surma, and the Karatoa. The WP called for increasing efforts for having inter-country join agreements in line with the national interest for developing on the basis of international river laws basinwide river management including a prohibition of the construction of dams at upstream.
Jatiya Party (Ershad), another component of the 14-Party Alliance has made mention of ensuring the welfare of farmers through the development of agriculture, without specifically mentioning about river and water.
‘Jatiya Oikya’ a new alliance comprising the Bangladesh Muslim League and the Nationalist Democratic Movement has pledged appropriate steps for maintenance of the water resources and securing a due share of international rivers.
Many other parties, especially those in the BNP-led 15-Party Alliance and the Left Democratic Alliance also have framed their own election manifestos that have not reached us till the time of preparing this statement. It is to be noted that the political parties have prepared their manifestos hastily and have not managed to give adequate space to river and water issues. It is our firm conviction that in the future the parties would give greater attention and space to this vital question of life and death of the people of Bangladesh.
IFC has repeatedly stated that World’s largest delta Bangladesh – created by rivers – cannot survive without rivers. The life-livelihood of the people, environment, agriculture, industry, biodiversity and culture depends on flows of its rivers. The reality is, 90 percent of water flow of these rivers come from their upstream outside the country. The rivers in Bangladesh are losing their flows due to indiscriminate construction of dams their upstream. More than 30 rivers in Bangladesh have turned dead in the absence of dry season flows. Bangladesh’s largest river the Ganga is drying up due to the construction of dams and barrages at upper reaches. An environmental disaster has emerged in the Ganges-dependent areas on the South-Western part of the country. Water diversion structures have been on all the 54 rivers that flow from largest neighbour India to Bangladesh. The signing of the much-publicised Teesta Water Sharing Treaty is not in sight.
Things would not have been like this had there been integrated management of the rivers as agreed to internationally. River and water experts throughout the world are in agreement that a river that does not flow from its origin to the sea is destined to die. It is thus clear that the death of rivers in the absence of regional and basin-wide integrated management would affect not only a downstream country like Bangladesh but also those lying at upstream.
The signatories to the statement are – Atiqur Rahman Salu, chairman, Awlad Hossain Khan senior vice-chairman and Sayed Tipu Sultan, secretary general of IFC, New York; Prof. Jasim Uddin Ahmad, president, Dr. SI Khan, senior vice-president and Syed Irfanul Bari, general secretary, IFC Bangladesh, and Mostafa Kamal Majumder, coordinator, IFC.