Fakhrul urges India to renew Farakka water-sharing treaty

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has urged New Delhi to engage in constructive dialogue with Dhaka to renew the Farakka (Ganges water-sharing) agreement, set to expire in December 2026.
“An opportunity has come to establish good relations between the two nations, and it depends on the renewal of the Farakka water-sharing deal by India,” he said while addressing a programme marking historic Farakka Day at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, in Dhaka, on Saturday.
Farakka Day is observed annually on 16 May to mark the historic 1976 long march led by Mazlum Jananeta (leader of the oppressed), Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, to protest India’s unilateral withdrawal of Ganges water through the Farakka Barrage.
Fakhrul, who also holds the secretary general post in the ruling BNP, said, “Farakka Day is now a symbol of resistance. The main objective of the protest was to protect the people of Bangladesh and to stand against the unfair and unjust actions of neighbouring India.”
Reiterating his call for renewal of the agreement, he said it must uphold the hopes and aspirations of the people of Bangladesh.
The Farakka Water-Sharing Treaty was signed between Bangladesh and India on 12 December 1996, focusing on the sharing of Ganges River water at the Farakka point during the dry season from 1 January to 31 May.
The programme was held with BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in the chair, where experts, including Emeritus Prof Ainun Nishat, also spoke.

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