Bangladesh says ties with India hinge on Ganges treaty renewal
Bangladesh says ties with India hinge on Ganges treaty renewal
Dhaka warns that renewing the Ganges water-sharing pact is essential as expiry nears, linking Bangladesh-India relations to negotiations.
Bangladesh on Saturday signaled that the future of its ties with India will hinge on the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, a pact due to expire in December 2026. In a statement, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said a renewed agreement must be implemented swiftly through talks that reflect the needs of Bangladesh’s people. The remarks come as Dhaka cleared a mega project to build a barrage on the Padma River, the Bangladeshi name for the Ganges, aimed at countering what Dhaka calls the adverse effects of India’s Farakka Barrage in West Bengal.\n\nThe Indo-Bangladesh treaty signed in 1996 created a 30-year framework governing transboundary water sharing and laid out Bangladesh’s rights over the river water when flows are low. The renewal is due in December 2026, and the pact includes a provision that when the Farakka barrage’s flow falls to 70,000 cusecs or less, both sides are allocated 50 percent of water. With the expiry looming, Dhaka’s stance underscores the central role of water diplomacy in bilateral ties and regional stability, particularly as climate pressures threaten seasonal river flows.
