West Bengal government has urged the Centre to safeguard the state’s interests relating to water availability, navigation, ports and industry as India and Bangladesh prepare to renew the 30-year-old Ganga-Padma water-sharing agreement, which is set to expire in December 2026. State government representatives raised the issue at a recent meeting of an internal committee of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and submitted a report outlining West Bengal’s requirements for Ganga water for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes. According to a senior state government official, ensuring adequate water availability for West Bengal, particularly during the dry season, is the state’s primary concern. The government has stressed the need to maintain sufficient downstream flow through the Farakka Barrage into the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system.
