Bangladesh has stated that its future ties with India will depend on the renewal of the Ganges water sharing treaty. The 1996 pact is set to expire in December 2026.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said a new treaty must be implemented immediately through discussions that meet the expectations and needs of the Bangladeshi people. He added that good relations with India hinge on whether the agreement is renewed.
The remarks follow Bangladesh's approval of a project to build a barrage on the Padma river. Officials aim to counter the effects of India's Farakka Barrage in West Bengal, which Dhaka links to reduced dry-season flows and salinity intrusion.
India opened the Farakka Barrage in 1972 to divert water into the Hooghly River and preserve the Kolkata port. The 1996 treaty, signed by Indian Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, sets out specific water shares based on river flow levels at Farakka.
