Interim government in Bangladesh wants talks with India on shared rivers

Dhaka, Aug 21: Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the advisor on environment and water resources in the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh, said on Wednesday that Dhaka will engage in discussions with New Delhi regarding shared rivers, including the Teesta.

“Just as West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee considers her own people’s interests, we will also take into account the needs of our people when making decisions about the Teesta project,” the Dhaka Tribune quoted Hasan as saying during a media briefing on Wednesday.

“The interim government may approach the international stage, if necessary, while maintaining friendly relations with India,” she added.

Hasan told reporters that the interim government will start working on the issue after taking into consideration the opinion of people living along the Teesta river.

The advisor made the comments following a meeting with Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s Country Director for Bangladesh, at the ministry’s office.

A lawyer and environmentalist, Hasan is also the chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA).

The ‘India-Bangladesh Shared Vision for Future: Enhancing Connectivity, Commerce and Collaboration for Shared Prosperity’ released on June 22 this year during the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s New Delhi visit had recognised the importance of water resource management in bilateral relationship.

“We will continue to engage in prioritizing the exchange of data and formulating the framework for interim water sharing based on the recommendations of the Joint Rivers Commission. We welcome the formation of a Joint Technical Committee to initiate discussions for the renewal of the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty of 1996. As part of our development cooperation, we will also undertake conservation and management of Teesta River inside Bangladesh with Indian assistance within a mutually agreed time frame,” the document mentioned.

India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which 7 rivers were identified for developing the framework of water sharing agreements on priority.

The Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) of India and Bangladesh was constituted in 1972 as a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interest on common/border/transboundary rivers.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), one of the important areas of cooperation, where India has been assisting Bangladesh, is sharing of real time flood data. India has also extended the period of flood data sharing beyond October 15 to help Bangladesh address unforeseen flood events.

Hasan also mentioned the interim water-sharing agreements on Kushiyara and Feni rivers, saying that there is an “issue” with the renewing of the Ganga Treaty and discussions with India can be held on more uniform rivers.

“India is our biggest neighbour. They played a big role in the independence of Bangladesh. We will definitely maintain our friendly relations with India. We will vigorously present our demands. We will either speak internationally that this is a fair claim. I would like to assure the people of their rightful demands, what we have to say about saving the life of the rivers of Bangladesh,” said the advisor according to Dhaka-based major Bengali daily Bhorer Kagoj.