PATNA: JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha on Thursday blamed silt accumulation on the Bihar side of the Farakka Barrage for the flood situation in the state and urged the Centre not to renew the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty with Bangladesh.
Talking to the media at the party office in Patna on the sidelines of the party’s outreach programme, Nitish Samvad Yatra, the first phase of which concluded on Thursday, Jha said Bihar had not received its due share of water even after three decades.
“Bihar’s share of water had been ‘stolen’,” he asserted.
He contended that the state’s share of water should be restored, keeping in mind its growing population and needs. He said the 1996 treaty with Bangladesh had caused immense loss to the state.
“Injustice has been meted out to Bihar so far as the water treaty with Bangladesh is concerned,” he added.
He alleged that the then chief minister, Lalu Prasad, who headed the Congress-supported government in the state, did not pay heed to Bihar’s share of water, resulting in injustice to the state.
He said Bihar’s population was 7.25 crore at the time of the treaty, but had doubled since then.
Drawing the Centre’s attention to the water-sharing treaty, the JD(U) leader said the same thing should not be repeated.
“The Centre should look into Bihar’s concern over the issue as it is a very important issue for the state,” he said, urging the Centre not to renew the 1996 treaty.
Deputy Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary also blamed siltation in the state’s rivers due to the Farakka Barrage for worsening the flood situation. He said the state was facing floods every year.
“The state has taken up the matter with the Centre and something positive will emerge,” he said.
Meanwhile, Umesh Kushwaha, state president of the JD(U), who was present at the press conference, said the party had received massive public support and participation during the first phase of the Nitish Samvad Yatra.
The yatra is scheduled to cover 12 districts along the Ganga before concluding in Katihar.
