A Bangladesh delegation is coming to India to attend the Bangladesh-India Joint River Commission (JRC) meeting to review the Ganges Water Sharing Agreement. The meeting is scheduled to be held in Kolkata and Farakka, West Bengal, from March 3 to 8.
This is the 86th meeting of the JRC. The Bangladesh delegation is being led by commission member Mohammad Abul Hossain. The delegation includes 10 other experts and government officials.
The Indian Ministry of Water Resources informed the West Bengal government about the meeting in an official message on February 25. The message asked the visiting delegation to make necessary security arrangements.
The agreement was signed in 1996 on the sharing of Ganges waters between Bangladesh and India. It was signed by the then Indian Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The agreement was for a period of 30 years. That period is set to expire next year.
During ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the two countries had agreed to an expert-level review of the agreement’s renewal. After the political upheaval in Bangladesh, many questions have arisen regarding the overall relationship between the two countries. This bilateral meeting is being held for the first time in that atmosphere.
There are 54 common rivers between Bangladesh and India. There is no agreement on the sharing of water of any other river except the Ganges. The question of water sharing of Teesta is still unresolved. The main reason for this is the non-cooperation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with the central government and her objections.
In a letter to Prime Minister Modi in 2024, Mamata Banerjee questioned the unilateral nature of the Ganga Treaty. She said that the central government did not consult the state on the treaty, even though it flows through West Bengal.
The central government, however, denied the allegations and said that the Union Ministry of Water Resources had formed a committee in 2023 with representatives from West Bengal and Bihar. In addition to Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, the Ganga flows through these two states and enters Bangladesh.
According to the message sent by the central government to West Bengal, the Bangladeshi delegation led by Mohammad Abul Hossain will reach Kolkata at 10:45 am on March 3. That same afternoon, they will board a train and leave for Farakka. The next day, they will visit the area adjacent to the Ganges River in Farakka. They will return to Kolkata on March 5.
Later, the 86th Joint Rivers Commission meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kolkata on March 6. A technical level meeting of the two countries will be held there on March 7. The visiting representatives will return to Bangladesh on March 8.
Source: Prothom Alo
