The High Court (HC) yesterday issued a rule upon the government to explain within four weeks as to why it should not be directed to take necessary steps to ensure the availability of actual share of the Ganges water at Farakka point as per the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty between Bangladesh and India. An HC bench of Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana and Justice Rezaul Haque also asked the government to show cause as to why it should not be directed to take steps to review the treaty according to the provisions of the international laws and conventions and to make alternative arrangement for the storage of water by building the Padma barrage. Secretaries to the president and the cabinet division and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Water Resources, Forest and Environment, Relief and Disaster Management Affairs have been asked to reply the rule. The ruling came upon a writ petition filed by two Supreme Court lawyers MK Muraduzaman and Faruk Hossain. They filed the petition as public interest litigation (PIL) on June 8 last stating that Bangladesh has not been getting actual share of Ganges water at Farakka as per different treaties and memorandums of understanding (MOU) with India. The petitioners said due to severe shortage of water some areas of Bangladesh are going to turn into desert, and the Sundarbans, the biggest mangrove forest in the world, are going to die. The court heard submissions from the counsels of both sides of the petition on June 17 and 18 last and fixed June 19 (yesterday) for the order. Advocate Tajul Islam appeared for the petitioners, while Deputy Attorney General Idris Khan stood for the government.