Bangladesh delegation to arrive in West Bengal’s Farakka today

An 11-member delegation from Bangladesh will visit India on Monday for a meeting regarding the Ganga Water Treaty, which is due for renewal in 2026.

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Both India and Bangladesh are set to hold the 86^th meeting of the joint committee of technical experts next week regarding the renewal of the 30-year-old treaty for sharing the waters of the trans-boundary river.

The Bangladeshi delegation will be led by Muhammad Abul Hossen, a member of the Joint River Commission (JRC). The delegation will arrive in West Bengal’s Kolkata today and will subsequently leave on a two-day visit to the joint observation site on the Ganga at Farakka until March 5.

The delegation will return to Kolkata for a two-day meeting under the aegis of the India-Bangladesh Joint River Commission on March 6-7, as per official communication.

What is Ganga Water Treaty?

The Ganga Water Treaty was signed on December 12, 1996, by then Indian Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

It is a 30-year treaty set to expire in 2026.

The treaty addresses the sharing of water from the Ganga river between the two countries.

Last year in March, when Hasina was at the helm in Bangladesh, the discussion regarding the treaty took place between the two countries.

Presently, there is a political tension surrounding the treaty, particularly with the West Bengal government. The treaty’s impact on the flow of water, especially during the dry season, is a significant concern. There is also an issue about navigability of the Kolkata port, which is also affected by the water flow. The sharing of water flow from the Farakka barrage is a core component of the treaty.

Besides, India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, so Ganga Water Treaty is one part of a larger water-sharing relationship between the two countries.