New Delhi: Emphasising that India and Bangladesh have an established bilateral mechanism to address issues related to shared rivers, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said that matters concerning the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty would be considered within the existing cooperation frameworks.
Addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to queries on recent remarks by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General and Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir regarding the Ganges water-sharing agreement.
“We have 54 rivers that are shared between India and Bangladesh, and we have a joint rivers commission, a structured bilateral mechanism to deal with issues pertaining to all the rivers that we share between India and Bangladesh. We will also be looking at these issues as part of our structured bilateral collaboration on rivers,” Jaiswal stated.
Alamgir reportedly said that the future of strong ties between Bangladesh and India hinges on the renewal of the Ganges water-sharing agreement, also commonly known as the Farakka Treaty, which is due to expire in December 2026.
The existing Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was signed between India and Bangladesh in 1996 and hailed as a diplomatic success.
It provided a 30-year framework for sharing Ganga waters during the critical dry season (January–May).
Based on a 10-day period flow measurement at Farakka, with a guaranteed minimum of 35,000 cusecs for each country in certain conditions, the implementation is overseen by a joint committee which is also responsible for resolving disputes.
While the treaty reduced tensions, its implementation has faced several challenges.
Climate change, glacial retreat, and upstream water use in India’s states have reduced dry-season flows, making allocations harder to meet.
Bangladesh has often alleged that it receives less than its due share, especially in drought years, while India cites hydrological constraints.
With the Ganges water treaty set to expire later this year, its renewal is expected to be a key issue in India-Bangladesh bilateral engagement.
(IANS)
