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Increased groundwater accessibility resulting from the expansion of deep and shallow tube wells helped Bangladesh attain near self-sufficiency in rice, with national output increasing over 15 million tons in the last two decades. Available evidence suggests that the policy focus so far has been largely on “resource development”, and not on “resource management”. This has resulted in serious problems, most notably excessive drawdown in intensively irrigated areas, and the deterioration of groundwater quality. Increasing energy prices are also threatening the sustainability of Bangladesh’s groundwater irrigated economy. The forefront challenge, therefore, is to take the necessary corrective measures before the problem becomes either insolvable or too costly to remediate. We suggest that attention must be given to the development and management of surface water resources to ease pressure on groundwater. In …