A high-level panel set up by the Centre to prepare guidelines for desilting Ganga river has suggested dredging the shoals formed in front of Farakka Barrage to address the issue of siltation.
The panel has made the suggestion in view of concerns over the barrage, particularly raised by the Bihar government, that it is a "genesis of severe floods" and responsible for the "alarming" rise of silt in Ganga's upstream.
"In view of specific issues being raised about siltation in front of the Farakka Barrage, it is suggested that the shoals formed may be desilted/dredged by taking care of the river training works around it," the Madhav Chitale-led four-member panel has said in its draft report.
Shoal is a sandbank or sand bar in a river bed, especially one that is exposed above the surface of the water at low tide.
The committee has advised that the sediments removed may be used for strengthening the embankments around the barrage pond.
"Sediment sluicing may be incorporated to maintain sediment continuity from upstream to downstream after carrying out necessary studies," the draft report has said.
Holding the barrage in West Bengal responsible for last year's floods in Bihar, the Nitish Kumar government has asked the panel to decommission it in order to desilt the heavily loaded upstream of the Ganga river.
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