From the Archives, The Hindu dated Aug 12, 1965
India to go ahead with Farakka
Dr. K.L. Rao, Union Minister for Irrigation and Power, told a Press conference here [NEW DELHI] to-day that the Government of India was determined to go ahead with the Farakka project and complete it according to schedule, whatever be the attitude of Pakistan. Referring to a number of statements from responsible persons in Pakistan during the last few days that this and some other projects India was taking up would deprive it (Pakistan) of water, he said this was far from the truth. These views were misconceived and that was why the Government of India had proposed a meeting of experts of the two countries to remove such doubts and suspicions on the part of Pakistan. The meeting would now be held shortly though no firm date had yet been fixed. Dr. Rao explained that the Gandak and the other projects had been before the nation for quite a long time. These had not been decided overnight to spite Pakistan as its rulers alleged. The Gandak project, for example, was nearly 100 years old. While there was no desire to comment on what Pakistan should or should not do, it might be pointed out, he said, that the effects of the projects in India would be beneficial to Pakistan in reducing the flood havoc caused by the Ganga. In fact, one of the technically “accepted measures of flood control was to develop storages, diversion and utilisation of the rivers in the upper reaches. Dr. Rao said the Farakka barrage would help in keeping the Bhagirathi in a flushed-out state, thus enabling it to carry larger volumes of water from the Ganga, and in this manner the floods in Pakistan would be reduced. It was, therefore, a travesty of facts and scientific thinking to say that the construction of the projects including Farakka, in India would aggravate the floods in East Pakistan. Dr. Rao said it was important to remember that the Ganga was the most precious river India possessed. It was essentially and almost entirely an Indian river. More than 90 per cent of its length lay in India. If one took into account its course along the Indo-Pakistan boundary, one would find more than 98.5 per cent of its length of the river lay between the Indo-Pakistan boundary and the site where Pakistan was anxious to build a barrage.