West Bengal Urges Centre To Protect State’s Interests In Ganga-Padma Water-Sharing Agreement

The West Bengal government has urged the Centre to protect the state’s interests before renewing the 30-year Ganga-Padma water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh, which expires in December.

The state has stressed the need for adequate dry-season flow through Farakka to maintain the navigability of the Hooghly and protect shipping operations at Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. It has also raised concerns over riverbank erosion, siltation and flooding in Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia.

The state has sought priority for environmental protection and future water needs in the new agreement and called for detailed discussions through the India-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission. State representatives have submitted a detailed report to an internal committee of the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti in this regard.

Technical teams of both countries have begun collecting flow data at Farakka and Hardinge Bridge.