BANGLADESH: A FLOOD OF EXCUSES TO BUILD EMBANKMENTS NOW KNOWN TO DO MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD

By Kunda Dixit Reprint | | Print |

KUNDA DIXIT

TANGAIL, BANGLADESH, Jun 17 1995 (IPS) - THE FIRST SQUALLS OF THE LONG-AWAITED MONSOONS ARRIVED IN A SUDDEN WALL OF RAIN LAST WEEK. HUGE DROPS PUMMELED THE BANANA FRONDS, THE BAMBOO GROVES SAGGED IN THE STEAMING DOWNPOUR.

IN THE VILLAGE OF TANGAIL, 100 KMS NORTH OF THE CAPITAL, DHAKA, THERE WAS GENERAL REJOICING. THE RAINS WERE LATE, AND NORTHERN BANGLADESH HAD SHRIVELLED WITH DROUGHT. VILLAGERS ACROSS THE LAND HAD PERFORMED RITUAL FROG WEDDINGS, A SYMBOL OF FERTILITY.

AMPHIBIAN NUPTIALS ARE SUPPOSED TO APPEASE THE RAIN GODS, AND THIS TIME THEY SEEMED TO HAVE WORKED.

BANGLADESH IS SITUATED ON THE FLOODPLAIN OF THE COMBINED DELTA OF SOUTH ASIA’S TWO BIGGEST RIVER SYSTEMS: THE GANGES AND BRAMHAPUTRA. MOST OF THE COUNTRY IS ONLY A FEW METRES ABOVE THE HIGH TIDE MARK, AND IS CRISSCROSSED BY AN EVER-CHANGING MAZE OF MEANDERING RIVERS THAT EMPTY INTO THE BAY OF BENGAL.

AS THE WARM AND MOIST MONSOON WINDS BLOW NORTHWARDS, THEY RISE UP THE SOUTHERN SLOPES OF THE HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS, CONDENSE AND DROP AS RAIN IN THE HIGHEST PRECIPITATION RATES ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. WITHIN A FEW WEEKS, THE SWOLLEN RIVERS WILL REACH BANGLADESH INUNDATING 20 PERCENT OF THE LAND.

THE WORLD HAS AN IMAGE OF MISERY, SUFFERING AND LOSS CAUSED BY FLOODS IN BANGLADESH. BUT THESE RIVERS ARE BANGALDESH’S ARTERIES AND THE ANNUAL FLOODS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE COUNTRY’S 120 MILLION PEOPLE.

SOON THE DRY OX-BOW LAKES AND THE CHANNELS NEAR TANGAIL WILL FILL UP, OVERFLOW. CENTRAL BANGLADESH WILL TURN INTO A VAST INLAND SEA. ONLY THE RAILWAY EMBANKMENTS, THE TOPS OF TREES AND ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION LINES WILL BE POKING OUT OF THE SURFACE OF THE MUDDY WATER.

THE WATER ALWAYS BRINGS A FRESH LOAD OF FERTILE ALLUVIUM AND THE FLOODWATERS TEEM WITH FISH. THE FLOODS ALSO WASH THE LAND OF ACCUMULATED CHEMICALS AND PESTICIDES AND CHARGE DEPLETED AQUIFERS.

ONCE EVERY FEW DECADES, THE GANGES AND THE BRAMHAPUTRA PEAK SIMULTANEOUSLY AND BANGLADESH GETS REALLY BAD FLOODS — LIKE THE ONE IN 1988 THAT INUNDATED THREE-FOURTHS OF THE LAND AND MADE A STAGGERING 33 MILLION PEOPLE TEMPORARILY HOMELESS.

HIGH-PROFILE CRISES LIKE THE 1988 FLOODS GALVANISED DONORS AND THE GOVERNMENT TO CHART OUT ONE OF THE MOST AMBITIOUS FLOOD CONTROL PROGRAMMES IN THE WORLD. IT IS CALLED THE FLOOD ACTION PLAN (FAP) AND IS A COMBINATION OF 64 MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WILL COST 2.5 BILLION DOLLARS AND TAKE AT LEAST TEN YEARS TO COMPLETE.