Teesta Water-Sharing Deal: No progress until polls end in West Bengal

India has conveyed to Bangladesh that any progress on the long-pending Teesta water-sharing issue will be possible only after the completion of the assembly elections in West Bengal.

This was communicated to Bangladesh yesterday during the talks between the water resources secretaries of Bangladesh and India in New Delhi after Dhaka raised the issue, officials said.

The eight-phased West Bengal polls will end on April 29 and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 2.

The Indian response came after Senior Secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, who led the Bangladesh side in yesterday's meeting, stressed on signing of the interim agreement on sharing of Teesta water as agreed by both the countries in 2011, said a press release issued by the Bangladesh side.

The meeting discussed sharing of waters of six trans-boundary rivers -- the Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharala and Dudhkumar -- and conducting a feasibility study jointly by Bangladesh and India for optimum utilisation of the water received by Bangladesh under the provisions of the Ganges water-sharing treaty of 1996.

Bangladesh also raised the issue of reduced flow in the Mahananda river due to withdrawal of water in West Bengal.

The meeting further took up the implementation of the October, 2019 MoU signed by the two countries on withdrawal of 16.9 cusec of water from the Feni river by India for drinking purpose in Sabroom town of Indian's north eastern state Tripura.

The meeting, coming ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh on March 26-27, also deliberated on enhancing cooperation in the area of flood forecasting involving the Atrayee, Punarbhaba and Tangon rivers that enter India from Bangladesh, the sources said.

The meeting also discussed issues related to excavation of the remaining portion of intake channel (Rahimpur canal) of the upper Surma-Kushiara project in Bangladesh and pollution in the Titas river through C & B khal and the Janji river in Akhaura of Bangladesh.

Indian Jal Shakti Ministry Secretary Pankaj Kumar led his country's delegation to the meeting.