Farraka Barrage, West Bengal

The Farakka Barrage is one of the most debated river management projects though for reasons which have nothing to do with either environmental or demographic reasons. Built primarily to serve the twin purpose of regulating the amount of Ganga water to flow out from the Indian territory into Bangladesh (East Pakistan then); and to ensure that sufficient water is diverted to Hooghly river to enable the regular flushing of silt at Calcutta port, the Farakka Barrage has been more often mired in controversy as India and Bangladesh have disagreed over the share of Ganga water between the two countries.

Completed in 1974–75, the Farakka Barrage is roughly 10 kilometers (km) from the border with Bangladesh. This is the longest barrage in the world and has recently been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records. It has 101 gates and it serves water to the Farakka super thermal power station.