Officials and technical experts of Bangladesh and India today wrapped up a two-day visit to the Farakka barrage in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district and the joint inspection sites along the river Ganges assessing the flow of water at the point when the river flows into the neighbouring country during the ongoing lean season.
The Bangladesh delegation led by Muhammad Abul Hossen, a member of India-Bangladesh Joint River Commission, returns to Kolkata tomorrow for the two-day talks under the rubric of JRC to hammer out a fresh treaty that would replace the existing 30-year-old accord signed in December, 1996.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.The delegation visited the Farakka barrage for a first-hand assessment of the flow of the Ganges water and how it runs downstream into Bangladesh. The timing of the Farakka visit is crucial as the lean season of the water flow runs from January to May.
After the visit, Hossen said the flow of the Ganges in January, the lean season, was “good” but it came down in February. He said the water-sharing is being carried out as per the 1996 treaty.
At Farakka, the two sides were understood to have exchanged data relating to the flow of Ganges water in the last five months.
Besides holding two-day talks with their Indian counterparts, the Bangladeshi team will have a meeting with West Bengal Irrigation Secretary Manish Jain on March 7.
The Ganges water-sharing treaty is important for West Bengal as the water diverted from Farakka barrage is meant for the livelihood of people along the banks as also for maintaining the navigability of the Kolkata port.
The existing treaty fixes a schedule of water flow from the Farakka barrage from January to May, the lean season. The pact says India can get up to 40,000 cusecs of water if the availability at Farakka exceeds 75,000 cusec. However, if the availability falls below 70,000 cusec, the flow is to be divided equally between the two countries. The treaty ensured 35,000 cusec to Bangladesh if the flow is between 70,000 to 75,000 cusec.