Explained | Bangladesh FM's India visit: Why The Ganga Waters Treaty matters For Both India And Bangladesh

New Delhi: As Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman prepares to visit India next week, one of the most sensitive items expected to be on the agenda is water.

The 30-year ‘Agreement on Sharing of the Ganga/Ganges Waters at Farakka’, which governs how dry-season flows of the Ganga River are divided between India and Bangladesh at the Farakka Barrage, is due to expire in December 2026. Its renewal comes at a politically significant moment, with a new government in Dhaka and rising climate pressures on one of South Asia’s most vital rivers.

Signed in 1996 after decades of interim arrangements and negotiations, the treaty, commonly known as the Ganga Waters Treaty, has long been seen as a cornerstone of India–Bangladesh cooperation. It transformed what was once a contentious upstream–downstream dispute into a rules-based sharing mechanism built on measurement, predictability and mutual restraint. For three decades, the agreement has quietly ensured that millions of farmers, fishermen and households on both sides of the border receive lifeline water during the leanest months of the year.

Today, however, the context has changed. Erratic monsoons, rising water demand, ecological stress, and advances in monitoring technology have all raised questions about whether a 20th-century formula can adequately address 21st-century realities. As Dhaka and New Delhi prepare to revisit the terms of sharing at Farakka, the negotiations are about more than cusecs of water — they are about food security, environmental stability, public health and the future trajectory of bilateral trust between the two neighbours.

How did the bilateral Ganga Waters Treaty come about?

A protracted dispute once marked relations between India and Bangladesh over how to allocate and manage the waters of the Ganga River, which flows from northern India into Bangladesh. For nearly 35 years, the issue remained contentious, with multiple rounds of talks and interim arrangements failing to produce a durable settlement. Friction intensified after India commissioned the Farakka Barrage in 1975. The structure was designed to divert water into the Bhagirathi–Hooghly system to flush out silt and maintain the navigability of the Kolkata port.

A breakthrough came on December 12, 1996, when then Prime Ministers HD Deve Gowda and Sheikh Hasina signed a comprehensive Ganga water-sharing treaty in New Delhi. The agreement created a 30-year framework for dividing dry-season flows and formally acknowledged Bangladesh’s rights as a lower riparian state.

Geographically, as the Ganga descends across India’s northern plains, it runs along a 129-km stretch of the India–Bangladesh boundary and then flows for about 113 km inside Bangladesh. Near Pakaur in India, the river first branches out through the Bhagirathi distributary, which later becomes the Hooghly River. Roughly 10 km upstream of the Bangladesh border, the Farakka Barrage regulates the Ganga’s flow, diverting a portion into a feeder canal to sustain the Hooghly.

Once the river enters Bangladesh, its main channel is known as the Padma. It later merges with the Jamuna — the principal distributary of the Brahmaputra descending from Assam — and further downstream meets the Meghna. From there, the combined waters spread across the vast 350-km-wide Ganga delta before finally emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

What does the Treaty provide to both sides?

The 1996 Ganga water-sharing agreement was crafted to create a fair, transparent and predictable mechanism for dividing dry-season flows between India and Bangladesh. The formula is anchored to the average flow of the Ganga River measured at the Farakka Barrage from January 1 to May 31 — the leanest period of the year when water demand is most acute. Allocations are calculated over successive 10-day blocks, using historical flow data recorded between 1949 and 1988.

Under the treaty’s sharing formula, when the flow at Farakka is 70,000 cusecs or less, the two countries split the water equally. If the flow lies between 70,000 and 75,000 cusecs, Bangladesh is assured 35,000 cusecs, with India receiving the remainder. When the flow exceeds 75,000 cusecs, India receives 40,000 cusecs, and Bangladesh gets the balance. The arrangement also includes a safeguard clause: between March 11 and May 10, each country is guaranteed 35,000 cusecs in alternating three 10-day periods.

To oversee implementation, the treaty provides for joint monitoring of river flows. The Joint Rivers Commission, established in 1972, plays a key role in supervision, data sharing and addressing concerns. Should differences arise, the agreement calls for resolution through diplomatic engagement and, if necessary, mutually agreed mechanisms for negotiation.

Why does the Treaty matter significantly for India?

For India, especially West Bengal, the Farakka diversion is essential to maintain the navigability of the Hooghly River and Kolkata port. The Ganga supports irrigation, drinking water and livelihoods across several states upstream

The treaty is a pillar of India–Bangladesh bilateral trust and regional diplomacy. It demonstrates India’s approach to transboundary river cooperation in South Asia.

Why is this agreement significant for Bangladesh?

For Bangladesh, Ganga waters are vital for irrigation and rice cultivation in southwest districts like Khulna, Jessore and Rajshahi. These waters also help prevent salinity intrusion from the Bay of Bengal.

The Ganga sustains wetlands, fisheries and river ecology. It provides surface water for communities otherwise forced to rely on arsenic-affected groundwater.

Any reduction in dry-season flows has immediate agricultural, ecological and public health consequences.

How has the treaty shaped India–Bangladesh relations so far?

The 1996 agreement is widely regarded as a turning point in bilateral ties. It built confidence that enabled cooperation in land boundary settlement, connectivity and trade, power and energy cooperation, and border management.

Water sharing became a symbol of trust, not dispute.

What is at stake for the treaty’s renewal in 2026?

The renewal will not be just about dividing water. It will be about updating a 20th-century formula for 21st-century climate realities. It will help preserve bilateral goodwill amid political change in Bangladesh.

Renewal of the treaty will ensure water, food and ecological security for millions on both sides of the border.

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