In response to floods in Bihar and Jharkhand, India has opened all 109 gates of the Farakka Barrage. The gates were opened on Monday, August 26. 11 lakh cusecs of water will reach Bangladesh in a single day. However, even if the water rises as a result of the Sabgate’s opening, analysts believe the flood situation in Bangladesh would not worsen.

On Monday (August 26), the barrage authorities said that there was water pressure due to floods in two neighboring states. But it is a matter of relief that no hills have descended from Nepal yet. In Farakka barrage area, the gate has to be opened as the water is flowing 77.34 meters above the water level. In that case, the amount of water in the feeder canal has also been increased.

In this regard, the former Director General of the River Research Institute, Engineer M Inamul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune, “Total gates in Farakka are 109. There is always something open. Opens more during monsoon. All are now open. It is unlikely to worsen the flood situation.”

Farakka Barrage General Manager R Desh Pandey said, “The Farakka Barrage authorities are always on alert. Every moment is being monitored. The way the water pressure built up in a very short period of time, if all the gates were not opened, there was a huge pressure on the barrage. Big damage could have been done.”

Location of Farakka Dam on River Ganges in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India. The construction of this dam started in 1962, about 18 km from the border of Bangladesh. The dam, built at a cost of about one billion US dollars, was completed in 1970. The operation of Farakka Dam officially started on 21 April 1975.