Opening Farakka Gate during monsoon season is normal! India’s Ministry of External Affairs

Regarding the opening of Farakka Barrage gates, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, 

“This is a normal occurrence that happens during the monsoon season.”

Amidst severe flooding in eastern Bangladesh, news of India opening the Farakka Barrage gates made headlines in Bangladesh’s media today. In this situation, the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson faced questions from journalists on Monday night.

In response to journalists’ questions, Randhir Jaiswal said,

“We have seen media reports about the opening of Farakka Barrage gates, which is said to allow 1.1 lakh cusecs of water to flow downstream in the Ganges/Padma River in its natural course. This is a normal occurrence that happens during the monsoon.’

Noting the increased river flow due to heavy rainfall in the upstream Ganges basin, Jaiswal said, 

‘It must be understood that Farakka is just a barrage, not a dam. This happens whenever the water level rises. It’s just a structure built to channel 40,000 cusecs of water into the Farakka canal. This system is operated using gates on the Ganges/Padma River.’

The Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that the excess water maintains the main river’s flow and flows towards Bangladesh. He further said,

 ‘According to protocol, water flow information is regularly and timely communicated to the relevant Joint River Commission officials of Bangladesh. This has been done this time as well.’

Randhir Jaiswal said,

‘Videos and rumors are being spread about this issue to create misunderstandings between the two countries. There’s also an attempt to create an atmosphere of fear. Such efforts will be firmly countered with information.’

An Indian government source has informed that data and statistics have been timely communicated to Bangladesh via email and WhatsApp. The two countries have already created a WhatsApp group where all water-related information is being exchanged.