India, B’desh begin work to renew key water treaty

Teams from India and Bangladesh are carrying out hydrological and technical 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.

- Zia Haq and Anirban Guha Roy [e-mail]

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.