Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed a preference for India to complete the Teesta River basin development project due to existing water-sharing issues with India.
An assertion that will gladden New Delhi at a time China is eyeing the USD1-billion project for the conservation and management of the transboundary river.
Sheikh Hasina made her preference for India over China recently while talking to media persons over the river project, in which New Delhi is also interested.
She recently returned from a four-day bilateral visit to Beijing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during Hasina’s India visit last month, expressed New Delhi’s desire to carry out a conservation and management project for the Teesta. Since then, the project, first proposed by China four years ago, has become a key pillar in India’s hydro-diplomacy with Bangladesh.
PM Modi’s offer came days after Hasina informed the Bangladesh National Assembly that she had asked the concerned authorities to look into the Chinese proposal. These remarks suggested she might be favouring China for the project, a possibility that kept the Indian officials and diplomats in tension ahead of Hasina’s China visit – for three reasons. First, it would signal the failure of India’s hydro-diplomacy. Second, it would lead to Chinese presence within 100km of the Chicken’s Neck, the narrow strip of land in north Bengal that connects the Northeast with the rest of India. Third, Chinese authorities would have access to sensitive information on water flow in the region.
Hasina’s latest remark would be a relief for New Delhi, which has been trying to find an alternative to a water-sharing agreement on the Teesta, which has been stuck since 2011 because of opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The project focuses on developing the river basin spanning 414km of the Teesta River, which flows from West Bengal, and Sikkim before going to the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh.
The Teesta River, which flows through India and Bangladesh, has been a topic of discussion between the two countries due to issues related to water sharing.
The dispute revolves around the equal distribution of the river’s waters, particularly during the dry season, to meet the agricultural, drinking water, and other needs of both nations.
The Teesta River originates in the Himalayas and flows through Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh and eventually emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The river is an important water resource for both India and Bangladesh.
According to the report of the Asian Foundation in 2013, its floodplain covers about 14 per cent of the total cropped area of Bangladesh and provides direct livelihood opportunities to approximately 73 per cent of its population. Whereas, Teesta is the lifeline of North Bengal, and almost half a dozen districts of West Bengal are dependent on the waters of Teesta.
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