| Indo-Bangla water deal on Tuesday: Minister Posted: 02 Sep 2011 09:14 PM PDT 
Dhaka and New Delhi are expected to ink deals on sharing of waters of two cross- boundary rivers – Teesta and Feni — on September 6, the day Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives in Dhaka, water resources minister said on Friday. "We will give final touch to the draft deals at a meeting of the Joint River Commission to be held on the same day," Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen told daily sun. He is expected to sign the deals with his Indian counterpart Pawan Kumar Bansal in front of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh. He added that the deals, once come into effect, would ensure equitable share of water of the two rivers as both the countries have long been trying to resolve the dispute over the hilly rivers. The minister also trashed media reports, quoting an Indian ruling party lawmaker, that Bangladesh would get only 25 percent of Teesta waters while India would take the rest. He said that the two sides agreed on equitable share of Teesta water. Bangladesh wants the sharing to be on a 50:50 basis while India proposed a 45:55 ratio. The minister claimed that both sides agreed on a 50:50 share of Teesta water. Bangladesh and Indian had earlier signed a landmark 30-year treaty on Ganges water in 1996 during Sheikh Hasina's previous regime. According to an Indian newspaper report, Bangladesh might get 48 percent waters of the Teesta and India 52 percent in line with a draft water- sharing deal. The draft of the agreement between Bangladesh and India to share the Teesta waters has been finalised with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee playing a catalyst role, Kolkata- based daily Anandabazar newspaper said. The proposed agreement is expected to be signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh on September 6-7. Mamata gave her consent to the draft agreement when India's National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon reportedly addressed her concerns at a meeting. Menon visited Dhaka on August 28-29 to finalise the Indian premier's tour of Dhaka. "India will take 52 percent and Bangladesh 48 percent after preserving 460 Cusec (cubic feet per second) Teesta water," the Anandabazar report reads. However, an Indian ruling Congress lawmaker told a global news agency that India would receive 75 percent of the Teesta water and Bangladesh the rest 25 percent in the light of the draft deal. Lok Sobha member from West Bengal Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury on Thursday attributed Menon to the water- sharing formula. He reportedly claimed that India was receiving only 39 percent water although there is no water-sharing modality at present. Anandabazar reported that Menon told Mamata at a meeting that the people of Bangladesh were eagerly waiting to see her. Mamata was quoted to have said that she had relations with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for long. The issue of water-sharing came up for discussion at the union cabinet meeting where India's Water Resources Minister Pawan Bansal was present, said the Anandabazar report. Bansal is scheduled to visit Dhaka today. The draft water-sharing deal will be recognised by a Joint River Commission meeting during Manmohan's visit. |
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