Modi government unwilling to endorse any move that will weaken Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
NEW DELHI: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposal for sharing waters of five other rivers, flowing from the northern part of the state into Bangladesh, instead of Teesta, has found no takers in either the central government or Bangladesh so far.
The proposal made on Saturday during two meetings involving Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina received a lukewarm response from both these leaders.
Any compromise on the part of Hasina on the proposed agreement to share waters of Teesta, which has been pending for five years, will weaken her position ahead of the election in 2019, according to officials in both Delhi and Dhaka. The Modi government is unwilling to endorse any move that will weaken Hasina, India’s strongest ally in the region, and Modi himself gave a public assurance on Saturday that the deal will be concluded in the near future.
Banerjee had initially mooted the proposal during the India-Bangladesh delegation-level talks on Saturday morning in Hyderabad House in Delhi, followed by her informal meeting with Hasina at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the evening.
She emphasised that since there was little water in Teesta river, even in April, there is a need to look at alternative proposals too. For this, she said, other transnational rivers could be diverted to attend to Bangladesh’s water needs. “Your problem is water, not Teesta. I am willing to look at any alternate proposal to address your issues,” she was quoted as telling Hasina in the presence of Modi.
She later reiterated this proposal at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the evening, people familiar with the matter told ET. She also assured that Torsa river can be allowed to flow unhindered to Bangladesh.
The three alternative river systems that Banerjee suggested to be studied as possible alternative to the Teesta were the Torsa, the Sankosh and the Raidak. The Torsa rises in Tibet and flows through Bhutan before entering northern Bengal; the Sankosh rises in northern Bhutan and empties into the Brahmaputra after flowing across the Bengal-Assam border; and the Raidak, also a tributary of the Brahmaputra, rises in Bhutan before emerging onto the plains of Jalpaiguri.
The proposal made on Saturday during two meetings involving Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina received a lukewarm response from both these leaders.
Any compromise on the part of Hasina on the proposed agreement to share waters of Teesta, which has been pending for five years, will weaken her position ahead of the election in 2019, according to officials in both Delhi and Dhaka. The Modi government is unwilling to endorse any move that will weaken Hasina, India’s strongest ally in the region, and Modi himself gave a public assurance on Saturday that the deal will be concluded in the near future.
Banerjee had initially mooted the proposal during the India-Bangladesh delegation-level talks on Saturday morning in Hyderabad House in Delhi, followed by her informal meeting with Hasina at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the evening.
She emphasised that since there was little water in Teesta river, even in April, there is a need to look at alternative proposals too. For this, she said, other transnational rivers could be diverted to attend to Bangladesh’s water needs. “Your problem is water, not Teesta. I am willing to look at any alternate proposal to address your issues,” she was quoted as telling Hasina in the presence of Modi.
She later reiterated this proposal at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the evening, people familiar with the matter told ET. She also assured that Torsa river can be allowed to flow unhindered to Bangladesh.
The three alternative river systems that Banerjee suggested to be studied as possible alternative to the Teesta were the Torsa, the Sankosh and the Raidak. The Torsa rises in Tibet and flows through Bhutan before entering northern Bengal; the Sankosh rises in northern Bhutan and empties into the Brahmaputra after flowing across the Bengal-Assam border; and the Raidak, also a tributary of the Brahmaputra, rises in Bhutan before emerging onto the plains of Jalpaiguri.
