Dhaka, May 16 — Bangladesh’s ruling BNP on Saturday warned that bilateral ties with India “will depend on” a new Ganges Water Sharing Treaty as it pressed New Delhi for immediate talks to produce an agreement that meets Dhaka’s “expectations and needs.” The current Indo-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, signed in 1996, is due to expire in December.
“We want to send a clear message to the Indian government that a (new Ganges) treaty must be implemented immediately through discussions according to the expectations and needs of Bangladesh’s people,” BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at an event in Dhaka. He added that the chance to establish good relations with India “will depend on the signing of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty or the Farakka Agreement.”
Alamgir accused uncertainty over renewal of the existing 30-year treaty — signed during the tenure of the now-disbanded Awami League government led by deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, as reported — of fuelling worries about future water-sharing arrangements. He urged that the current agreement remain in force until a successor is signed and suggested future accords should not be limited to a fixed tenure.
The Ganges, known in Bangladesh as the Padma after it enters the country at Chapai Nawabganj, is central to life in the lower riparian delta. The river system, crossed by hundreds of waterways including 54 linked to India, supports livelihoods, biodiversity and water supply for nearly one-third of Bangladesh’s roughly 170 million people, Alamgir said.
The BNP comments follow government approval three days earlier of a major Padma Barrage project, which officials say will help “negate the negative impact” of India’s Farakka Barrage in West Bengal. The project is expected to be completed by 2033. Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee told reporters the Padma Barrage is “a matter of Bangladesh’s own interest and there is no need for any discussion with India on the issue,” while adding that “discussions are necessary regarding the Ganges, and those are ongoing,” after the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the plan.
Leading water expert Ainun Nishat, who helped draft the original treaty, cautiously welcomed the Padma Barrage but said its usefulness will depend largely on continuation of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty. Other experts warned the proposed barrage could worsen Farakka’s downstream effects by increasing sedimentation and raising riverbeds in Bangladesh. The 2,240-metre Farakka Barrage was built to divert water into the Hooghly to flush sediments and keep Kolkata port navigable. The Farakka issue has long been sensitive, with successive Bangladeshi governments blaming reduced dry-season flows for salinity intrusion, river degradation and harm to agriculture and ecology. India maintains the barrage’s primary purpose was to preserve Kolkata port and says water-sharing has been addressed through bilateral mechanisms and treaties, including the 1996 agreement.
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/05/17/india-bdesh-ties-will-depend-on-water-treaty-renewal-bnp/
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Publish Date: 2026-05-17 05:40:00
