Officials of Bangladesh and India yesterday held the 86th meeting of the Joint River Commission in Kolkata where they discussed the pros and cons of renewing the 30-year-old Ganges water-sharing treaty which comes up for renewal next year.

This was the first meeting of the JRC on the sharing of the trans-border river since the change of government in Bangladesh on August 5 last year.

Today's meeting formed a technical committee and set up broad parameters on which the future of the Ganges water-sharing treaty, signed in December 1996, would depend, sources in both sides said.
The Bangladesh delegation was led by Md Abul Hossen, a member of JRC.

The technical committee comprising hydrology experts from both sides will meet tomorrow to carry forward the discussions.
The JRC meeting took place after the officials and experts carried out a survey for two days of the current status of the flow in the Ganges at Farakka.