Key takeaways
Bangladesh faces severe water shortages as the 1996 Ganges water-sharing treaty with India expires in December, threatening the livelihoods of millions. Residents report reduced river flows, impacting agriculture and fisheries in the region.
- The 1996 treaty governing dry-season water sharing at India's Farakka Barrage expires on December 12.
- Reduced Ganges flows have caused crop failures and significantly lowered fish catches in Bangladesh.
- The Ganges basin supports 655 million people, including over 50 million in Bangladesh.
Summarised automatically by AI from the original article by Malay Mail. AI can make mistakes, so check the original for details.
RAJSHAHI (Bangladesh), Oct 29 — In Bangladesh’s parched Barind region, 72-year-old Bikash Soren remembers when the Ganges river flowing in from neighbouring India carried large boats past his village year-round.
But the South Asian country is now blighted by persistent water shortages — and the expiration of a long-term water-sharing deal with Delhi in just a few weeks’ time threatens tens of millions of livelihoods.
“For almost three months a year, you hardly see the river flowing,” the Protestant priest said.
Two farmers killed themselves last season, he added, after dwindling water levels left their rice and wheat crops in tatters.
