INDIA鈥橲 arbitrary water withdrawal from cross-border rivers, in blatant violation of international laws, has caused ecological degradation, agricultural disruption, economic hardship and severe freshwater scarcity in Bangladesh. At least six crore people across the country, as a study says, face an acute water shortage, even for irrigation, because of India鈥檚 withdrawal of water upstream. River experts and researchers at a programme on May 15 in Rajshahi, marking the 49th anniversary of the Farakka Long March that Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani led, said that Bangladeshis, especially people in the north and the south, suffered because of India鈥檚 illegal water withdrawal. The study also says that irrigation is severely hampered in 65 per cent of the Ganges-Kobadak project area because of water scarcity and a reduced freshwater flow has led to increased salinity in southern regions, damaging soil fertility and threatening agricultural productivity. The arbitrary withdrawal of the Ganges water through the Farakka Barrage, 18 kilometres upstream off the Bangladesh border, has had a devastating impact on the Barind Tract, causing severe groundwater depletion.
Many aquatic species such as river dolphins, gharial and, even, much of hilsas have disappeared from the Padma because of India鈥檚 water withdrawal from the Ganges. India now diverts Ganges water at more than 400 points across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal through massive infrastructure projects, including the upper, middle and lower Ganga canals. The study also says that the Rajshahi segment of the river has lost 50 per cent of its width, 17.8 per cent of its depth and 26.2 per cent of its flow since 1984 while freshwater availability has declined in the Sunderbans by 90 per cent. India has, moreover, denied the share that it agreed to in the 1996 Ganges water sharing treaty in the summer and releases a massive volume of water during the monsoon season, causing flooding in various parts of Bangladesh. While being deprived of the fair share of transboundary rivers is not new for Bangladesh, what is unacceptable is that Dhaka has largely been unable to pressure New Delhi to abide by the international laws or even the Ganges treaty and to sign a water-sharing agreement on the water of other rivers. Bangladesh and India share at least 54 rivers while there is a water-sharing agreement only on the water of the Ganges.
With the Ganges treaty set to expire in 2026 and with India increasingly using water as a weapon, Dhaka needs to strategically engage in robust international legal action. Before that, Dhaka should commission a detailed, multidisciplinary initiative to assess ecological, agricultural, and economic losses inflicted by India鈥檚 water withdrawal from international rivers.