India, Bangladesh begin spadework to renew water pact

TEams from bharat and bangla desh ar carrying come out hydrological and technological assessments in each other’s countries, beginning the spadework to renew a crucial water pact that could test bilateral relations amid strained ties following an uprising that toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.The 30-year-old Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, signed in December 1996, that governed discharges by India, an upper riparian state, into Bangladesh is set to expire. The current pre-monsoon period, critical to obtain hydrological measurements, is the only lean season available before a new treaty can be drawn up.A two-member engineering team made a preliminary visit to Bangladesh in the first week of January, while a four-member Bangladeshi delegation visited a point near the Farakka barrage over the Ganga in West Bengal, collecting hydrological data to determine water flows, an official of the Jal Shakti ministry said.The Indian team, comprising officials from the river-management wing of the Central Water Commission, visited Harding Bridge on the Padma -- as the Ganga is called in Bangladesh -- that cuts through the middle of the country. The river flow at Harding bridge is considered representative of hydrological data across swathes of the Padma, the official added.The technical assessments, which will continue till May 31, make up one half of the exercise crucial for deciding the contours of a potential new treaty, according to the official.The other half, from India’s point of view, involves assessing domestic water requirements, amid a growing population and power, drinking and irrigation needs.A panel of the Jal Shakti ministry is examining inputs sent by states, especially Bihar and West Bengal, on local conditions and water requirements, including projections of current and future demand.The existing treaty, which was signed on December 12, 1996 by then Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, was a landmark in bilateral cooperation that ended past disputes over water shares from the Ganga.The 1996 treaty ensured Bangladesh recognised the Farakka barrage and settled the neighbour’s opposition to it after it was commissioned in 1975 to divert water from the Ganges to the Hooghly river to maintain navigability of the Calcutta port.The renewal of the treaty comes at a time of deteriorating ties between the two countries, especially since the fall of the government of Hasina, who fled to India after an insurrection in August 2024.Bangladesh has criticised New Delhi’s decision to shelter Hasina, while a key source of tension is the condition of Hindus, a religious minority in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. India has accused the interim government led by Mohammed Yunus of failing to protect Hindus, who make up slightly less than 10% of the population. Dhaka has rejected the claims as exaggerated.Under the treaty, India, the upper riparian state, and Bangladesh, the lower riparian, reached an agreement to share the Ganges water at Farakka, a dam on the Bhagirathi river nearly 15 km from the Bangladesh border, the Jal Shakti ministry official said.Under the treaty, India may withdraw up to 40,000 cusecs when Farakka’s flow exceeds 75,000 cusecs. If the flow falls below 70,000 cusecs, the water is shared equally. When the flow is between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs, Bangladesh is guaranteed 35,000 cusecs.“Our teams will assess the ground realities and submit its findings. Both sides are cooperating. Technical visits will continue every 10-12 days till the end of May to map the water flow for the entire lean season,” the official said.Bihar, a key state where water availability is determined by flows in the Ganga, is expected to be allocated 900 cusecs of water during lean season (January- May) to meet its drinking water and industrial demands as recommended in the final report of internal federal committee formed to review the treaty, a water resources department officials said in Patna.The first round of measurements was carried out in Bangladedh by a two-member team led by Saurabh Kumar, deputy director of India’s Central Water Commission (CWC), along with assistant director Sunny Arora. At the same time, a four-member Bangladeshi team headed by Md Arifin Zubaed, executive engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, travelled to India.Till a new treaty is signed, from March 11 to May 10, both countries can draw a minimum of 35,000 cusecs during one of the three ten-day cycles per month, as per the existing treaty.The allocation of water under a proposed new treaty would partially help Bihar to ensure water availability in drought-prone southern areas of the state although there is no separate allocation of water for Bihar under the treaty.“Bihar had sought 2000 cusecs of water under the proposed new Indo-Bangladesh treaty of Ganga water sharing at Farakka. But 900 cusecs of water has been recommended for Bihar for drinking water and industrial requirement during the lean season ( January -May) as per the final report of the internal committee formed to look into the new water sharing treaty,” said Santosh Kumar Mall, principal secretary, water resources department, Bihar.Bihar has maintained that the state faced acute shortage of water during the lean season. Chief minister Nitish Kumar has said that the Farakka barrage led to siltation in the Ganga and sought desiltation to mitigate the perennial problem of floods in Bihar.