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WATER POLITICS

Via OOSKA News, a report on Indian-Bangladesh water issues:

An agreement between India and Bangladesh on sharing the water of the Teesta River could be reached this September when the Bangladeshi prime minister is next scheduled to visit India, according to Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

“I do sincerely hope, in the next few months we will be able to resolve it,” he was quoted as saying while on a two-day trip to Bangladesh over the weekend.

Khurshid met with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Dipu Moni, in preparation for the second Joint Consultative Commission meeting that will take place in New Delhi in September.

Efforts are currently under way in India to resolve issues with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee, who has opposed the Teesta water-sharing treaty due to fears of water shortages in her state.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the treaty in 2011, but it has stalled because of Banerjee’s complaints that the document favors Bangladesh.

However, earlier this month, she appeared to be backing down, according to local news reports.

“My state has nothing against Bangladesh, but we have to look into our interests also,” Banerjee told Gulf News.  “The farmers of North Bengal suffer a lot due to lack of water, we also have to look at their interest. We have one language and one culture. The present divide is man-made and we will do everything to strengthen our relationship with Bangladesh.”

Khurshid also met with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who called on India to take a “liberal view” on the Teesta.

“We hope India will take a liberal view to resolve the problem and initiate measures to sign the agreement,” she was quoted as saying.

Asked about India and China’s understanding on water issues that result from upstream projects, particularly dams, Khurshid said “there is no reason for concerns.”

China will not undertake any project upstream that would hurt downstream India, and India in turn will not implement any project upstream that would negatively affect Bangladesh’s water supply, he said.

A joint statement was issued by the Indian and Bangladeshi governments a day after the ministerial meeting, saying they had “widened the scope of bilateral cooperation and relations have become truly multifaceted, encompassing a wide range of areas.”