Photo: BSS

RAJSHAHI, May 16, 2026 (BSS) – A human chain was formed in Rajshahi marking the historic Farakka Day today.

Rajshahi unit of ‘Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon’ (Save the River Movement) organized the programme at Shaheb Bazar Zero Point in the city with the slogan ‘No more treaties of subjugation, we demand our fair share of Ganges water’.

Speakers at the human chain said that since the construction of the Farakka Barrage, the Padma and other rivers in the northwestern region of the country have suffered severe water crisis.

Reduced navigability of the rivers has had negative impacts on agriculture, the environment, biodiversity, and river transport.

Every year during the dry season, vast sandbars emerge across the bed of the Padma. They noted that this has put river-dependent livelihoods and public life at risk.
 
The speakers said, “If the rivers survive, the country will survive.” 

Therefore, alongside raising public awareness to protect rivers, they stressed that effective initiatives at the state level are crucial.
They also called on the nation to remain united in securing rightful share of the Ganges water.
 
They further stated that Bangladesh is being deprived of its fair share in the distribution of international river waters.

The government must take more effective and stronger diplomatic initiatives to ensure the just distribution of the Ganges water. 

At the same time, they demanded the adoption of a long-term national plan to protect the country’s rivers.
 
Present at the human chain were- Wasim Hossain, advisor of Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon, Rajshahi unit, and Joint General Secretary Sadiqul Islam Swapan; Rajshahi Bar Association General Secretary Advocate Parvez Toufiq Zahedi and leaders from various social, cultural, and professional organizations.
 
The event was presided over by Iftekharul Alam Masud, President of the Rajshahi unit of Bangladesh Nodi Bachao Andolon. It was conducted by the organization’s General Secretary Ahsan Habib.