Bangladesh Barrage Push Flops as India Holds Water Key

DHAKA — Every year on May 15, Bangladesh marks “Farakka Day.” It is a bitter memory. On that date in 1976, a long march led by activist Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani protested India’s diversion of Ganges River water through the Farakka Barrage. Nearly 50 years later, the tension is still fresh. Bangladesh is now betting on a mega project: a new barrage. The goal is to secure more water for its people and farms. But the plan is not working. India controls the upstream flow. Bangladesh’s diplomatic push for a better deal is failing. Without a new agreement, the barrage cannot deliver the water Dhaka needs. The project, meant to solve a long-standing problem, now highlights India’s power over the region’s water resources.