Were India and Bangladesh on the verge of signing a Ganga water treaty in 1990 , a good seven years before they actually did? They were, going by principal actors of that period. What jinxed it was the fall of the governments, first of Vishwanath Pratap Singh in November 1990 and barely a month later, of Lt Gen, Hossain Mahommed Ershad. What followed was a mix of bureaucratic delays and a lack of political will on both sides. Much water flowed down the Ganga in the meantime, without fully benefitting the neighbours.