Push for a fair deal

Bangladesh and India are going to share the water of the Teesta in “equitable” manner based on water availability at Gazoldoba barrage, 25km away from Bangladesh border.
Even though it has never been officially declared how the water would be shared, a number of officials on condition of anonymity said India would get slightly bigger share of Teesta water than Bangladesh.
"A 15-year interim deal with 52-48 [52 percent for India and 48 percent for Bangladesh] water sharing will be signed keeping 20 percent of the water for the river," said a member of the Bangladesh delegation in the Joint River Commission.
“This offer was put forward by India and we are considering it. A long-term deal will be signed later on after observing the flow of water," the member said.
However, Moshiur Rahman, adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, yesterday told the BBC that experts are yet to know the volume of water of the Teesta. "So, we will measure the volume of the water in the next 17 years. Later, we will go for a permanent treaty," said Moshiur.
He said they are not discussing about the quantity of the water. They are talking about how much of the total available water would be shareable.
"The treaty will basically be a political decision…," he said.
His remarks came after Congress lawmaker from West Bengal Abu Hasan Khan Chowdhury told the BBC that Shib Shankar Menon, Indian national security adviser, had said India would get 75 percent of the Teesta water.
Menon visited Dhaka on Aug 28-29 to finalise Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka visit plan. Manmohan is to visit Dhaka on September 6-7.
Water resources ministers of Bangladesh and India will sit Tuesday to have last minutes talks before inking the deal in presence of the two prime ministers, sources in the ministry of water resources said.
Indian Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal was scheduled to be at a Joint River Commission meeting today. He cancelled his trip to Dhaka at the last moment.
Meanwhile, Kolkata-based daily Anandabazar reported that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cleared the draft after talking to security chief Menon at a meeting.
She was anxious about some issues in the draft and did not want to harm the interest of her state in anyway, the paper reported.
It also said the interim deal will be based on 52-48 percent water sharing.
Mamata and chief ministers of four Indian states bordering Bangladesh will accompany Manmohan during his Dhaka visit.
The deal on the Teesta and the Feni water sharing was agreed upon by the two sides during Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi in January, 2010.
Since the inception of the Joint River Commission in the 1970s, the two countries have been in discussion over sharing waters of eight rivers--Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dharala and Dudhkumar, Teesta and Feni--without reaching any agreements.
So far they only have a treaty on sharing the water of the Ganges.