Narendra Modi is determined to go ahead Teesta deal

India Correspondent : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flagging off the Kolkata-Khulna-Dhaka bus service and the Kolkata-Khulna train service in New Delhi after bilateral talks between the countries.

The Indian government is not interested in exploring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposal for water sharing of four smaller rivers of North Bengal with Bangladesh.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not formally reacted to Mamata’s proposal, but there was no mention of them in the joint communiqué. A top MEA official told that these smaller rivers cannot provide Bangladesh the quantum of water needed for the country’s northern districts that Dhaka is looking for.

“We have negotiated with Bangladesh for water sharing on Teesta since the 1980s. They have expectations and we finalised the deal in 2011 after taking into account all factors, including West Bengal,” the official said, but was not willing to be named.

The official said that Mamata sprung a surprise by offering water sharing of four smaller rivers — Torsha, Mansai, Jaldhaka and Raidhaka — but insisted it was not possible to share Teesta waters because it dries up in the lean season.

“Since Teesta flows into Bangladesh and is the biggest river in the north of the Bengal basin, we have to share its waters with Bangladesh. The formula we agreed can be slightly reworked to take care of Bengal’s interest, but how can we say this big river is out of water sharing equations,” the official insisted.

He said this message has been given to Bangladesh ‘ to avoid confusion’ that Mamata’s proposals may create. An Indian water resources ministry official, also not willing to be named, told “We have examined the water sharing deal on Teesta after prolonged negotiations with Bangladesh. The 2011 draft is based on that. We can slightly tweak it but we can’t drop it.”

The officials said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to go ahead with the Teesta deal, regardless of Mamata’s opposition. “That is why he committed to Sheikh Hasina in presence of Mamata to find a solution to Teesta. That spirit was also reflected in the joint communiqué. There was no mention of Mamata’s proposals in that, so we are not looking at them at all. We will work for the Teesta deal,” said the MEA official.

The official talks between Bangladesh and India were held on Saturday at New Delhi’s ‘Hyderabad House’. The official talks between Bangladesh and India were held on Saturday at New Delhi’s ‘Hyderabad House’. The water resources ministry official said Modi has asked them to start working on water sharing in seven other common rivers besides Teesta.

“He wants to address this issue comprehensively and not one river at a time as we have done in the past. The prime minister wants us to address all major rivers so that Bangladesh has no cause for complaint,” he said.