UN General Assembly
1993

The pledges given by India when the Farakka Barrage was commissioned remain unfulfilled. This unilateral withdrawal of water, in complete disregard of the interests of the people of Bangladesh, has brought more than 40 million people in the Ganges basin - or, rather, the Padma basin - face to face with catastrophe, with disaster. The Farakka Barrage has become, for us, an issue of life or death. Owing to obstruction of the natural flow at the Barrage, a process of desertification is evident throughout the northern and western parts of Bangladesh. As a result, vegetation is dwindling, and, in the south, the spreading salinity threatens industries and agriculture with ruin. Increased siltation is reducing the navigability of rivers. Fish and animals will soon be in danger of extinction. Innumerable people, in various occupations, who depended on the river Padma for their living are becoming unemployed. Many are being uprooted from their homes and hearths. While the whole world is voicing concern about protection of the environment, a large proportion of Bangladesh’s population is being pushed to the threshold of