More Than A Response To Farakka: Why The Padma Barrage Truly Matters – OpEd

Definitely, the construction of the Padma Barrage in Bangladesh is correlated to India’s Farakka Barrage that was decided to employ as a political tool long before the independence of Bangladesh. 

Correlated by the fact that, Bangladesh would likely not have to build such a megaproject like Padma Barrage, spending a huge budget of Tk 34,497 crore, if there had been adequate water supply from the Ganges through Farakka during the dry season of January to May.

Therefore, while implementing the project, policymakers must ensure that the water reserved by the Padma Barrage during the monsoon is first directed toward the river networks of southwestern Bangladesh in the dry months. At the same time, while negotiating with the Indian counterparts, the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) must either ensure the continuity of the 1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty, or reinforcing the 1977 Bangladesh-India water sharing Agreement or negotiate an even better deal among those lines. Bangladesh must also remain firm in demanding that its rightful share of Ganges water continues to flow through the course of the mighty Padma.

Some critics argue that constructing the Padma Barrage could weaken Bangladesh’s position in water diplomacy with India. This report, however, substantiates that such concerns are not only misplaced but also unreasonable. According to the proponents of this controversial claim, India may challenge that Bangladesh no longer requires the proper share of water to Padma because of having a new suitable barrage. Such a position would neither be rational nor consistent with international principles governing trans-boundary water sharing. This report will further explain that position.

However, it remains true that Bangladesh frequently receives less than its treaty-entitled share of Ganges water. Although the country is guaranteed roughly 35,000 cusecs during critical periods, that level also has not been maintained too often by its neighbor. During the dry season, Bangladesh has repeatedly been deprived of its fair share of Padma water. As a result, the government has finally decided to implement the construction of the long-awaited Padma Barrage in pursuit of broader national interests. 

The Benefit of the Padma Barrage

As proposed, the Padma Barrage is expected to ensure reliable water supply to the southwestern part of Bangladesh. 

In assessing the benefits of the project, it is important to note that the barrage has been planned primarily to address drought conditions, and revive distributaries such as the Gorai, Modhumoti, Chandana, Baral and Ichamoti etc. However, its significance is not just determinate in restoring river flows. With nearly 29 lakh hectares of agricultural land being projected to benefit directly, the Tk 34,497.25 crore Padma Barrage Project will add an additional 800 cusecs of water during the dry season, the amount of water that has largely been absent from this delta over the past 30 years in the critical dry seasons. 

The Barrage itself is 2.1 kilometre, featuring 78 spillways, 18 under sluices, and 2 fish passes, will be constructed in Rajbari’s Pangsha Upazila. Additionally, 113 megawatt of electricity is expected to be added to the national grid system. 

The project’s first phase commenced in 2026 and is scheduled for completion by 2033 under the supervision of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). According to the project estimates, its annual economic benefit could reach around Tk 7,127 crore.

However, the benefits require on the uninterrupted flow of Ganges water. The success could be truly undermined if India, somehow adopts an aggressive or unilateral approach that restricts the river’s flow outside established diplomatic frameworks and agreements.

Therefore, ensuring adequate water flow remains essential. To understand the basis of that flow and Bangladesh’s entitlement to it, it is necessary to examine the treaties and agreements governing the sharing of Ganges water.

Better Deal Possible than 1977 or 1996?

The 90th meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) between Bangladesh and India took place on May 22-23, 2026 in Kolkata, ended without any major breakthrough, although the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty is on its expiration in December 2026. 

Officials familiar with the negotiations said Bangladesh is seeking a stronger and more effective framework based on previous agreements, including the 1977 arrangement signed during the presidency of Ziaur Rahman. India appears more inclined toward renewing the existing 1996 Ganges Water Sharing Treaty signed by then Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart H.D. Deve Gowda.

However, the expiry of the 1996 treaty does not mean an end to water sharing between the two countries. Rather, it opens a crucial phase of renegotiation over one of South Asia’s most sensitive transboundary river issues.

In 1975, India began diverting water through the Farakka feeder canal, justifying the navigability issue at Kolkata Port. Bangladesh subsequently raised concerns over declining dry-season flows in the Padma. The dispute intensified and was eventually taken to the United Nations in 1976. A five-year agreement was signed in 1977, providing Bangladesh a comparatively stronger allocation formula during low-flow periods.

However, both the 1977 agreement and the 1996 treaty suffer from a structural limitation: water allocation is calculated primarily at the Farakka point rather than through a comprehensive basin-wide assessment of the entire Ganges system. Though in international river governance, the trans-boundary water management should be considered the overall river basin rather than a single control structure. 

Even the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan, has been followed this basin-wide principles and institutional mechanisms during a long period of military conflict. On the other hand, Bangladesh despite the absence of any major conflict or large-scale war with its neighbor has long been deprived from just water through the Padma basin. This single phenomenon indicates Bangladesh immediately and meticulously, has to consider the water sharing issue very rationally. 

Within the bounds of formal public discourse, the need for stronger public awareness might support a sustainable solution, as Bangladesh’s common people has repeatedly demonstrated its capacity to defend the country’s interests against various forms of perceived injustice.

What Critics Miss the Most? 

Critics of the proposed Padma Barrage generally raise two major concerns: the risk of siltation and flooding, and the aftermath diplomacy with India.

Regarding the first concern, we want to argue that siltation is primarily an operational and engineering challenge rather than an unavoidable consequence of a barrage, unless the construction is politically motivated and deliberately designed to obstruct sediment flow.

The construction of Padma Barrage is incorporating sediment-flushing gates, under-sluices, dredging programs and controlled water releases to manage sediment accumulation. Similarly, flood risks often depend on the efficiency of operation and maintenance rather than the mere existence of a hydraulic structure. Thus, the expected benefits may surpass any manageable losses arising from the project.

The second concern relates to what can be described as the “India factor.” Critics bring here the argument that the Padma Barrage could weaken Bangladesh’s negotiating position regarding Ganges water sharing. We reject this view, pointing to historical arrangements such as the 1977 Agreement, dynamic in its nature, international mechanisms like UNGA, as well as future diplomatic options. 

They often overlook the spirit of the Bangladeshi people. Even Maulana Bhashani, at the age of 96, led the Long March toward Farakka in 1976 to defend the country’s broader national interest.

And finally, they skip that Farakka is mostly a political tool. So do Uttarakhand’s Bhimgoda Barrage, Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor, Narora, Luv Kush and 300 other barrages on the whole Ganges basin. 

We need a broader discussion on why India constructed many of these politically motivated barrages. Such a discussion should include an analysis of the entire Ganges river network, the impact of those every feeder canals that divert water from Ganges’s natural course, and the extent to which the Padma is disturbed by numerous upstream barrages and water-control structures.

Regarding this, what is the Padma Barrage? It is hope. Hope that the State is acting on behalf of the water-deprived people. The Padma Barrage sets an example of a new lifeline. Many who claim this would bring no change or invite disaster, miss one most important critical point: Farakka remains a political tool, Padma is mostly economic.