North Bengal suffers

The banks of these mighty rivers are vulnerable to erosion, especially the left bank of the Padma and right bank of the Brahmaputra Jamuna. About 800 square kilometer of valuable flood plains have already been lost due to erosion. Rajshahi town, Serajgonj town and Sariakandi etc. are threatened by erosion. A large section of the inhabitants turns destitute. According to an estimate, about 65,000-70,000 people are affected annually along the Brahamaputra-Ganges banks. But no attempt has been made to protect or rehabilitate them. The people are left at the mercy of the rivers.

On the other hand, the two mighty rivers carry very large quantity of silt annually. Flood silt is deposited in the riverbed causing serious problem of navigation. The unprotected bank widens and aggravate the siltation problem. According to an estimate, in winter navigation route shrinks to 1/6th of the route available in 1971. In course of time the situation will worsen further if the present trend is allowed to continue. In critical periods fuel shortage is not uncommon here. This year there is serious fuel shortage in the northern part of the country. The fuels could not be carried to Baghabari depot due to siltation. This has seriously hampered irrigation of boro paddy.

Siltation is a serious problem. Sporadic dredging is a temporary measure, especially in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna river which carries about 60 crore tons of silt annually. Without a well planned river training work for the entire length of the river the situation will worsen. In this connection recommendations of the World Bank and the Bangladesh China expert team may be referred to. Some rivers have already died and the Atrai-Hurasagar river, the main artery of the southern part is dying for want of maintenance. Main drains of the towns have been clogged creating hygiene problems for the inhabitants.

Diversion of flows of rivers upstream by India and over pumping by tube wells have led to arsenic contamination. It has caused serious shortage of drinking water. Prolonged use of contaminated water may cause fatal diseases. So far very little effort has been made to supply potable water to the affected people.

Production of fish has dwindled due to reduction of flows, over drainage for irrigation and use of pesticides. The fishermen are finding it hard to survive.

In winter people of Rangpur, Nilphamari, and Kurigram suffer from "Monga"( acute shortage of employment about a month before the harvesting of Aman crop) . So they are unable to sustain themselves.

Industries have not developed in this part of the country due to higher prices of fuel, shortage of electricity and higher cost of transportation. In the western part, railway is running with dilapidated bogies and very old engines.

The Barapukuria coal and Madhyapara hard rock projects are being carried out under the suppliers credit. As a result, cost of production is becoming high.

A review of development budget allocations will reveal that North Bengal has been deprived. Since independence, the actual expenditure has been less than allocation.