MOWR MUST BE CAUTIOUS: Kosi Canal Navigation Study

By Dr. AB Thapa

At present Kosi development study is going to be jointly conducted by the Ministry of Water Resources( MOWR) of HMG and Government of India. It would be a very vast and equally complicated study. The magnitude of the Kosi development projects is going to be one of the biggest in the whole world. The scale of the proposed Kosi development projects could be on a par with the mammoth Three Gorges Project which is presently under construction in China . One of the components of the Kosi development study is the Kosi canal navigation study. Needless to say that the development of Kosi canal waterway would be extremely important for landlocked Nepal . The proposed studies must be conducted without prejudicing Nepal ’s vital interests in Kosi development. Thus Ministry of Water Resources must be very cautious. There are hardly any person in Nepal who could properly advise Nepal on a mammoth project like the Kosi development. So Nepal should not hesitate to engage short term competent foreign experts to advise us on Kosi study.

Background

During the official visit of Nepalese prime minister to India in early 1990s it was agreed that both the countries would jointly undertake the detailed study of the Kosi High Dam Project. Immediately after signing that accord the Nepalese politics was marred by the controversy over the Tanakpur Barrage issue, as a result, very few outsiders could have noticed at that time that the Ministry of Water Resources was gripped by another controversy about the Kosi High Dam issue. The controversy was over the omission of the Sun-Kosi Project and the Kosi navigation in the bilateral agreement It was a serious cause for concern because the Sun-Kosi dam project would have been precluded for ever if the Kosi dam project alone is studied and implemented. Similarly the prospect to develop Kosi canal navigation would have vanished if canal navigation component is not incorporated in the Kosi dam project study.

I vehemently raised the Sun-Kosi Dam and the Kosi navigation issue within the Water Resources Ministry. It might surprise many to learn that at the beginning there was hardly anyone in the ministry who realized the significance of such proposition and who also believed that Indian Government could easily be convinced to agree with us. One of our policy makers, who was considered heavyweight in the field of water resources, was even wailing virtually in tears about the great misery that would befall our country and we could be denied access to essential goods such as the salt and oil if the Water Resources Ministry tried to drive our country to a collision course with India on Kosi High Dam issues.

Prelude to 1997 Kosi Meeting

I was not surprised when I learnt that His Majesty’s Government had appointed me to lead a Nepalese team constituted to negotiate the Kosi study agreement with the Government of India. Perhaps at that time I was the only person in the government doing some studies of the Kosi problems independently despite the fact that the nature of my official assignment was completely different. I had tried to conceptualize on my own way the Kosi High Dam Project and the Sun-Kosi High Dam Project. I had even developed for the first time a new concept of the Kosi navigation canal linking Nepal with the seaport through Ganges, Bhagirathi and Hoogly rivers. I was happy that I would be able to present my views to Indian colleagues. I understood that there is a great deal of misunderstandings between Nepal and India over matters related to water resources in general and the Kosi river in particular Thus the task to evolve a common program for Kosi study acceptable to both the countries was not easy

Indian Endorsement of Canal Navigation Plan

The Kosi Study Agreement 1997 has shown beyond doubt that the commencement of the construction of the Kosi High Dam would be contingent upon the prior implementation of the Sun-Kosi High Dam Project on technical grounds Similarly the study to construct the Kosi High Dam is now firmly tied up with the provision of a navigation canal about 165 km long out of it a 120 km long section of such navigation canal would be in Indian territory. The proposed navigation canal would be linking Nepal with the seaport through Ganges, Bhagirathi and Hoogly rivers Thus India has not only endorsed our proposal to build the Kosi navigation canal linking Nepal with the seaport through Ganges, but it has even gone one step further. Government of India has agreed to bear the entire cost of the feasibility studies of the Sun-Kosi Dam Project as well as the Kosi Navigation Canal Project.

Advantages of Kosi Canal Navigation

The Kosi Waterway is the nearest to the Calcutta Seaport and it is well linked with the transportation system within Nepal , thus there is a great advantage in giving priority to develop this waterway. Unfortunately the topography of the terrain in India traversed by the Kosi river is quite steep. There is an elevation drop of about 40 m between Indo-Nepal border and the Ganges River in a north south stretch of just about 120 km. This certainly makes the task of developing Kosi River channel suitable for navigation by large vessels very difficult. The high topographical gradient makes the channel depth small due to high flow velocities. All these difficulties can be easily overcome if we choose to have a navigation canal instead of natural course of the Kosi River . Some of the obvious advantages of the navigable canal linking Chatra in Nepal with the Kursella where Kosi merges with the Ganges are given below:

The navigation canal would follow the shortest route to the Ganges river. The length of the Kosi navigation canal from Indo-Nepal border near Birpur to the Ganges is expected to be only about 120 km, whereas the length of the river route to cover the same stretch would have been about 270 km.

Quite a big quantity of water would have to be kept running in the river to maintain adequate depths needed for navigation. For navigation canal such requirements would be very small. The problem of water loss in navigation canal would not even arise if such canal is also to be used as a conveyance system to deliver water for irrigation purposes.

The entry point of the Kosi navigation canal into the Ganges river is near the tail end of the Ganges river where the depth and widths of the river channel are expected to be adequate for relatively big river vessels. There might even be significant enhancement in navigability of the Ganges river near the tail end due to upstream water level rises after the completion of the Farakka Barrage. The Kosi navigation canal would have to be planned to take vessels plying in the lower reach of the Ganges , as a result, it would be far bigger in size by comparison with similar canals along the Gandak or the Karnali rivers falling into the Upper Reach Ganges.

Global Experience in Planning Canal Navigation

The proposed navigation canal will extend from Chatra to a place near Kursella where the Kosi meets the Ganges River . The canal is expected to be about 165 km long. This canal could be proposed to be used to the extent possible for irrigation and power generation purposes also. The Kosi navigation canal will be a component of the Kosi High Dam Multipurpose Project. There are good examples in the past when big multipurpose projects had helped to develop the inland navigation. The river Rhine is one of such examples. To improve navigation and to produce hydroelectric energy, France , by the Treaty of Versailles, diverted the Rhine water below Basel into a canal that joins the Rhine at Neu Breisach. This helped to significantly improve the navigation conditions that permitted to ply barges of 1,500 tons capacity in that stretch of the river.

An example of the most recent navigation canal is the Main-Danube Canal in Germany . This canal is 171 km long. Its construction was completed in 1990s. The canal winds through some of the most challenging, scenic, and environmentally sensitive landscape in Germany . The Altmuhl Valley traversed by the canal is one of the most beautiful and environmentally fragile in Bavaria . It is this factor that lies behind a long and often passionate opposition to this project. However, Germany did not bow before the environmentalists opposing the canal scheme who regarded that it would be the end of the Altmuhl valley. The economic attraction of the waterway for Germany was too great. According to a study conducted on behalf of the State Railway, to move one ton of goods in Germany one kilometer costs 14 pfenings (about 9 cents) by rail and 29 pfenings by road, but just 4 pfenings by inland waterway.

Stair step locks on the Main River lift barge traffic to Bamburg, northern entry point to the canal. From there 11 locks raise ships to the highest point on any commercial waterway in Europe about 180 m above Bamburg. Five more locks then lower vessels to Kelheim, the southern terminus of the canal. The waterway will accommodate huge Euro-barges carrying upto 2,425 tons of bulk cargo, the equivalent of 78 truck trailers.

Layout of Kosi Navigation Canal

It has been proposed in the Kosi High Dam Project Report prepared by the Government of India to build a canal from Chatra to the Birpur area to deliver silt free water from the Kosi storage reservoir for irrigating lands in India on the east of the Kosi. This canal would be 130 m wide and it can also be used for navigation purposes. The length of this section of the canal will be about 45 km. This canal will be entirely in Nepal territory

The length of Lower Reach Canal will be about 120 km. This canal will be completely in Indian territory .

The canal will require navigation locks for negotiating the falls. The size of these navigation locks should be decided based on the standard sizes adopted for the Farakka Barrage system. It is a common practice that same standard size of the lock system is maintained throughout the interconnected waterways system.

A Lesson To Be Learnt

We can draw extremely valuable lessons for our Kosi canal navigation planning from the recent and past experiences of the European countries. Unfortunately India, in the past, did not pay attention to new developments taking place in the field of canal navigation. As a result, the navigation component of the Durgapore barrage project ended in a complete failure. This project taken up for construction as late as 1950s was under the Damodar Valley Corporation, an Indian model of the famous TVA of the USA. The left bank canal, 120 km in length, was designed to permit navigation by small barges only 250 ton in capacity. It had been established since a long time that such small barges would have difficulties to compete with the railways. Apart from it, the poundage too was very small. There are 22 locks in a stretch of just 161 km. Because of these drawbacks, the canal has remained unused for navigation. Fortunately now it seems India has realized her mistakes. Those matters related with economy have been fully taken care of in the design of the navigation component of the recently built Farakka barrage.

The navigation component of the Farakka barrage has been designed paying full attention to the present global trends with respect to size. The bed width of the 37.5 km long feeder canal is 150 m. The channel depth at full supply level is 6 m. The navigation lock has two chambers, each 25.15 meters wide and 180.7 meters long. The lock system is adequate for barge up to 1,500 ton capacity. Provision has been made for adding a second lock at future stage.

While conducting the feasibility study of the Kosi navigation canal we should take full advantage of the vast experience the Continental Europe has gained in the field of inland navigation. We should not allow the Durgapore navigation canal mistake to be once again repeated. The size of the Kosi navigation canal and its related structures such as the lock system should be determined in conformity with the size already adopted by India in design of the Farakka barrage navigation system which corresponds to the recommended size in Europe.

(Dr. Thapa writes on water resources)