Ganga Water Sharing Treaty must be renewed following the int’l legal framework

The 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Agreement between Bangladesh and India will expire in December this year.

There has been no announcement officially about the renewal of the treaty.

The question of what will happen in the future regarding the sharing of Ganges water as it is no longer a diplomatic one, but also a question of national survival.

Without an agreement, Bangladesh’s access to water becomes uncertain. Moreover, many aspects of the current agreement are flawed.

As a result, if a solution is sought through the renewal of this agreement, the issue of fair water sharing between the two countries will remain unresolved forever.

So, Bangladesh has to secure a better agreement by eliminating the flaws in the agreement.

The biggest problem with the current agreement between Bangladesh and India on the sharing of Ganges water is that it considers the Farakka point as the basis for water sharing.

However, before reaching this point, water is withdrawn through about 975 dams throughout the upstream, starting from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Making arrangements to share what remains at Farakka means discussing a small part of the total flow of the Ganges.

In the first agreement of 1977, Bangladesh was guaranteed a minimum flow of water during the dry season. Later, it was dropped.

As a result, the agreement that is now being renewed, in which Bangladesh has legally limited remedies if India withdraws water upstream during any dry season.

Bangladesh has no right to get information about the total amount of water being withdrawn upstream under the current agreement.

Meanwhile, the government has decided to build the Padma Barrage.

For the successful implementation of this project, long-term assured water supply is essential.

However, without a guarantee clause, this supply assurance may remain on paper.

Thus the flaws and fundamental amendments in the agreement must be used as a starting point for negotiations.

If the flawed agreement is hastily renewed for another 30 years, future generations will have to pay the price for that mistake.

Meanwhile, the Joint River Commission of the two countries has convened its 90th meeting.

In this meeting, the Bangladesh side will have to apply negotiating pressure.

In this case, the restoration of the guarantee clause should be Bangladesh’s steadfast demand.

Ganges water is not just a question of a natural resource; it is a question of the country’s agriculture, environment, livelihood and sovereignty.

We have to sit at the negotiating table with this understanding.