JRC meets tomorrow to finalise Teesta deal
The Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) begins a three-day meet tomorrow to finalise a draft agreement on sharing water of the Teesta with India, ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi later this month.
A seven-member Indian delegation led by SP Kakran will arrive in Dhaka today to attend the technical meeting. JRC member Mir Sajjad Hossain will lead the five-member Bangladesh delegation at the talks, which will also finalise annual report of water flow at Farakka point.
Water resources ministry sources said Bangladesh is eager to handover a copy of the draft agreement for sharing water of the Teesta to India before Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi, which is likely to be from December 18.
They said after the Ganges, Bangladesh is giving priority to Teesta among the other common rivers and that is why it is eager to handover a draft of an agreement.
Officials of foreign and water resources ministries said Bangladesh will seriously pursue finalising the draft agreement during the experts' meeting beginning tomorrow (Friday). Bangladesh has already finalised its draft agreement, which will be handed over to India very soon.
Water resources ministry officials said Bangladesh in 1999, after the signing of the Ganges water sharing treaty in 1996, approached India to sign an agreement to share the water of the Teesta.
During Foreign Minister Dipu Moni's India visit in September this year, Bangladesh and India in a joint statement agreed to form a joint technical team to gather hydrological data on Teesta's water availability. The joint-body is yet to be formed.
Sources said in 2005 Bangladesh handed over a draft of an agreement on Teesta water sharing to India with the proposal that Bangladesh and India each would get 40 percent water of the Teesta and 20 percent water would go to the Bay of Bengal for maintaining the channel of the river. India did not accept the Bangladesh proposal.
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