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No progress on Teesta water sharing deal
India on Thursday expressed its willingness to support a mega development project on the transboundary River Teesta inside Bangladesh, where China had already shown its interest and completed a survey...
www.newagebd.net
No progress on Teesta water sharing deal
Mustafizur Rahman 09 May, 2024, 14:07
India on Thursday expressed its willingness to support a mega development project on the transboundary River Teesta inside Bangladesh, where China had already shown its interest and completed a survey.
Indian external affairs secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra conveyed the message during a courtesy call on foreign minister Hasan Mahmud at his Segunbagicha office in Dhaka.
'We have taken a mega project over the Teesta. India is willing to finance it. I said [to him] that the Teesta project would be designed as per our needs. We want to have our needs fulfilled through the project,' Hasan told reporters after the meeting.
Asked about China's interest in implementing the proposed Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project, the foreign minister said that they had only discussed India's willingness to support the mega project.
Vinay Mohan, who arrived in Dhaka on a two-day visit on Wednesday evening, also paid a courtesy call on prime minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.
Later on the day, the Indian foreign secretary had a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart at the foreign ministry.
About Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to India at the invitation of her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, the foreign minister said that the date of her visit could not be fixed before the completion of India's ongoing national polls.
New Delhi has long been foot-dragging on the Teesta water-sharing treaty with Dhaka, adversely affecting the lives and livelihoods of the people in the Rangpur region.
'Foreign minister Mahmud raised the water sharing issue of the common rivers, including that of Teesta, and the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty,' said a foreign ministry release issued later on the day.
Former foreign secretary Md Touhid Hossain said that he had been in doubt since the beginning whether China would finally be able to get involved in the project in a location that is sensitive to India.
He, however, said that it was not all the same to reach an agreement on anything and implement it.
If India seriously takes the project to counter China, it may go ahead like other projects under the Indian line of credit that are not advancing at an expected pace, he told New Age.
Asked for comment about India's proposal, retired diplomat Munshi Faiz Ahmad said that Bangladesh should weigh both proposals and look into their terms to find a better one.
'First of all, we must see whether India has the technological capacity for the project. Bangladesh should accept the proposal having better terms for us and make both of its friends understand what we want from the project,' said Faiz, also a former chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies.
The Teesta becomes almost dry in the lean season due to the unilateral withdrawal of water upstream in India, while in monsoon, the common river overflows, causing frequent floods in Bangladesh as Indian authorities open floodgates at the Gajoldoba barrage to offload water pressure.
Biodiversity and agriculture in Bangladesh's northern districts have been seriously affected in the absence of any water-sharing treaty between Bangladesh and India.
After the finalisation of the draft of the Teesta deal by the two sides, India backtracked on signing the treaty just hours before the arrival of then-Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in Dhaka on September 6, 2011, on the plea that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee objected to the agreement.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, like his predecessor, continued to promise to conclude the interim agreements on sharing the waters of seven transboundary rivers, the Teesta in particular, amid repeated requests from Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on almost every occasion they met.
According to the framework of an interim agreement finalised in 2010, the two sides agreed to share Teesta water on a fair and equitable basis, with the 50:50 water-sharing ratio keeping 20 per cent of the water as environmental flow during the lean season.
'There is no further progress on the Teesta water-sharing deal. We expect the Teesta water sharing treaty could be signed once the two prime ministers agree,' Joint Rivers Commission, Bangladesh member Md Mohammed Abul Hossain told New Age on Thursday.
He, however, said that the Teesta project was not discussed at their level, and he was not aware of the involvement of China in the mega project on the river.
The foreign ministry earlier said that China was willing to support a development project on the transboundary River Teesta inside Bangladesh, and the ministries concerned would consider it.
In case of any dispute from India against the proposed project on one of the common rivers, Bangladesh would go ahead with the proposal, keeping into consideration its geo-political implications, foreign ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told a weekly press briefing at the ministry on December 28, 2023.
'China is one of the biggest development partners of Bangladesh. It has been assisting in infrastructural development here for a long time. China has also expressed willingness to support a development project on the River Teesta inside Bangladesh,' she said on the day.
Asked to what extent Dhaka would take into cognizance India's possible dispute over Chinese engagement along the bordering river that flows into Bangladesh's northern district Lalmonirhat from the North Eastern Region of India, Seheli, also director general of the public diplomacy wing of the foreign ministry, said that it was difficult for her to respond to such a 'hypothetical question.'
She, however, said that Dhaka would consider the geopolitical implications of the project in case New Delhi raised a dispute against the Chinese proposal for the Teesta development project inside Bangladesh.
The Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, Yao Wen, said at an event in Dhaka on December 21 that the country had already sent a revised proposal to Bangladesh on the 'Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project,' lowering its costs.
Expressing hope that work on the Teesta water management project would start after the national elections in Bangladesh, he said, 'We have proposed implementing the project in phases.'
Originating in Sikkim in India and entering Bangladesh through Lalmonirhat, the 315-kilometre-long Teesta travels more than 150 kilometres through half a dozen other districts, including Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, and Kurigram, before merging with the Jamuna River at Fulchhari.
A survey on the river was completed in 2019 by the Power Construction Corporation of China under the Bangladesh Water Development Board of the water resources ministry.
The development works incorporate river dredging, construction of dams and reservoirs in the project area, according to BWDB officials.
A visit by the then Chinese ambassador Li Jiming to the Teesta Barrage in Lalmonirhat in 2022 showed Beijing's keen interest in funding and implementing the 'Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project', they said.
The BWDB officials said that they had been negotiating a nearly $1 billion loan from China through the Economic Relations Division.
The project aimed at upgrading the socio-economic condition of the Rangpur division by establishing new economic growth points along both banks of the river, preventing floods, and removing slits from the river bed, according to the primary plan.
Mustafizur Rahman 09 May, 2024, 14:07
India on Thursday expressed its willingness to support a mega development project on the transboundary River Teesta inside Bangladesh, where China had already shown its interest and completed a survey.
Indian external affairs secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra conveyed the message during a courtesy call on foreign minister Hasan Mahmud at his Segunbagicha office in Dhaka.
'We have taken a mega project over the Teesta. India is willing to finance it. I said [to him] that the Teesta project would be designed as per our needs. We want to have our needs fulfilled through the project,' Hasan told reporters after the meeting.
Asked about China's interest in implementing the proposed Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project, the foreign minister said that they had only discussed India's willingness to support the mega project.
Vinay Mohan, who arrived in Dhaka on a two-day visit on Wednesday evening, also paid a courtesy call on prime minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.
Later on the day, the Indian foreign secretary had a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart at the foreign ministry.
About Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to India at the invitation of her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, the foreign minister said that the date of her visit could not be fixed before the completion of India's ongoing national polls.
New Delhi has long been foot-dragging on the Teesta water-sharing treaty with Dhaka, adversely affecting the lives and livelihoods of the people in the Rangpur region.
'Foreign minister Mahmud raised the water sharing issue of the common rivers, including that of Teesta, and the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty,' said a foreign ministry release issued later on the day.
Former foreign secretary Md Touhid Hossain said that he had been in doubt since the beginning whether China would finally be able to get involved in the project in a location that is sensitive to India.
He, however, said that it was not all the same to reach an agreement on anything and implement it.
If India seriously takes the project to counter China, it may go ahead like other projects under the Indian line of credit that are not advancing at an expected pace, he told New Age.
Asked for comment about India's proposal, retired diplomat Munshi Faiz Ahmad said that Bangladesh should weigh both proposals and look into their terms to find a better one.
'First of all, we must see whether India has the technological capacity for the project. Bangladesh should accept the proposal having better terms for us and make both of its friends understand what we want from the project,' said Faiz, also a former chairman of the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies.
The Teesta becomes almost dry in the lean season due to the unilateral withdrawal of water upstream in India, while in monsoon, the common river overflows, causing frequent floods in Bangladesh as Indian authorities open floodgates at the Gajoldoba barrage to offload water pressure.
Biodiversity and agriculture in Bangladesh's northern districts have been seriously affected in the absence of any water-sharing treaty between Bangladesh and India.
After the finalisation of the draft of the Teesta deal by the two sides, India backtracked on signing the treaty just hours before the arrival of then-Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in Dhaka on September 6, 2011, on the plea that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee objected to the agreement.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, like his predecessor, continued to promise to conclude the interim agreements on sharing the waters of seven transboundary rivers, the Teesta in particular, amid repeated requests from Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina on almost every occasion they met.
According to the framework of an interim agreement finalised in 2010, the two sides agreed to share Teesta water on a fair and equitable basis, with the 50:50 water-sharing ratio keeping 20 per cent of the water as environmental flow during the lean season.
'There is no further progress on the Teesta water-sharing deal. We expect the Teesta water sharing treaty could be signed once the two prime ministers agree,' Joint Rivers Commission, Bangladesh member Md Mohammed Abul Hossain told New Age on Thursday.
He, however, said that the Teesta project was not discussed at their level, and he was not aware of the involvement of China in the mega project on the river.
The foreign ministry earlier said that China was willing to support a development project on the transboundary River Teesta inside Bangladesh, and the ministries concerned would consider it.
In case of any dispute from India against the proposed project on one of the common rivers, Bangladesh would go ahead with the proposal, keeping into consideration its geo-political implications, foreign ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin told a weekly press briefing at the ministry on December 28, 2023.
'China is one of the biggest development partners of Bangladesh. It has been assisting in infrastructural development here for a long time. China has also expressed willingness to support a development project on the River Teesta inside Bangladesh,' she said on the day.
Asked to what extent Dhaka would take into cognizance India's possible dispute over Chinese engagement along the bordering river that flows into Bangladesh's northern district Lalmonirhat from the North Eastern Region of India, Seheli, also director general of the public diplomacy wing of the foreign ministry, said that it was difficult for her to respond to such a 'hypothetical question.'
She, however, said that Dhaka would consider the geopolitical implications of the project in case New Delhi raised a dispute against the Chinese proposal for the Teesta development project inside Bangladesh.
The Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, Yao Wen, said at an event in Dhaka on December 21 that the country had already sent a revised proposal to Bangladesh on the 'Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project,' lowering its costs.
Expressing hope that work on the Teesta water management project would start after the national elections in Bangladesh, he said, 'We have proposed implementing the project in phases.'
Originating in Sikkim in India and entering Bangladesh through Lalmonirhat, the 315-kilometre-long Teesta travels more than 150 kilometres through half a dozen other districts, including Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, and Kurigram, before merging with the Jamuna River at Fulchhari.
A survey on the river was completed in 2019 by the Power Construction Corporation of China under the Bangladesh Water Development Board of the water resources ministry.
The development works incorporate river dredging, construction of dams and reservoirs in the project area, according to BWDB officials.
A visit by the then Chinese ambassador Li Jiming to the Teesta Barrage in Lalmonirhat in 2022 showed Beijing's keen interest in funding and implementing the 'Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project', they said.
The BWDB officials said that they had been negotiating a nearly $1 billion loan from China through the Economic Relations Division.
The project aimed at upgrading the socio-economic condition of the Rangpur division by establishing new economic growth points along both banks of the river, preventing floods, and removing slits from the river bed, according to the primary plan.
