Farakka treaty key to bilateral ties
Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday put Dhaka’s bilateral relationship with New Delhi squarely on the line over water rights, saying Bangladesh’s ties with India
will be determined by how the Ganges water-sharing treaty — commonly known as the Farakka treaty — is implemented.
Speaking at a discussion organised to mark the historic Farakka Long March Day, Fakhrul, who also serves as secretary general of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), delivered what amounted to a direct diplomatic message to India.
“We want to send a clear message to the government of India that this treaty must be implemented immediately through discussions according to the expectations and needs of the people of Bangladesh,” he said.
“Bangladesh’s good relations with India will depend on how the Ganges or Farakka treaty is executed.”
“Bangladesh’s good relations with India will depend on how the Ganges or Farakka treaty is executed,” he said.
Fakhrul underscored the existential importance of the Ganges — known in Bangladesh as the Padma — for the country’s people.
He said the river sustains the lives, livelihoods and biodiversity of nearly one-third of Bangladesh’s population, making its uninterrupted flow a matter of national urgency rather than mere diplomatic protocol.
He recalled that the late Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani had warned decades ago of the catastrophic consequences the Farakka Barrage would bring — from the destruction of livelihoods to irreversible damage to the environment and biodiversity — a warning the minister suggested history has since borne out.
Fakhrul traced the origins of Bangladesh’s water-sharing difficulties to 1976, when the Farakka Barrage was first permitted to operate.
In the years since, multiple agreements have been signed under successive governments — those of Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina — each attempting to manage the flow of the Ganges with varying degrees of success.
He paid tribute to BNP founder and former president Ziaur Rahman, crediting him with internationalising the Farakka issue by mobilising public support and ultimately negotiating a treaty he said was favourable to Bangladesh.
The minister argued that future agreements should not be constrained by fixed terms, and called for the existing arrangement to remain in force until a new and comprehensive treaty is concluded.
He expressed concern that the current treaty is set to expire in December, warning that the uncertainty surrounding its renewal poses a serious risk to future water-flow arrangements.
On a note of cautious optimism, Fakhrul welcomed the government’s decision to proceed with the Padma Barrage project, saying the initiative was being taken under the direction of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
The project is seen by proponents as a long-term structural response to Bangladesh’s vulnerability to upstream water management decisions by India.
The Farakka Long March Day commemorates the historic march led by Maulana Bhashani in May 1976 to protest Indian diversion of the Ganges waters through the Farakka Barrage, built on the Indian side of the border in West Bengal.
