Assessment
The 1996 treaty established a long-term solution and considerably eased the strains in Indo-Bangladeshi relations. The 1996 treaty has been attacked by the Awami League's main rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is regarded as hostile to India, but it did not renege from the treaty when it came to power in 2001. The BNP and other Bangladeshi political factions allege that India is drawing excessive water and the amount allocated to Bangladesh is unjust and insufficient. India in turn complains that the water allocated to Bangladesh leaves it with less water than necessary for the functioning of the Kolkata Port and the National Thermal Power Corporation in Farakka.
Other critics have also stressed environmental reasons for India to reconsider its drawing of water at Farraka. Alarming increases in deforestation and erosion at the upper levels of the Ganges river increases the deposition of silt at the lower level, which is already measured at 2 million tonnes annually, along with increased salinity have also led to desertification. In Bangladesh, the diversion has raised salinity levels, contaminated fisheries, hindered navigation and posed a threat to water quality and public health. Such silt levels are believed to be adversely affecting the Hooghly river and the Kolkata Port.
Read more about this topic: Sharing The Water Of The Ganges
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