Kushiyara water-sharing deal unfair: Experts

Barak river flows through 45,000 square-kilometre area, within which there are six large and medium irrigation projects and six hydro-electric stations, for which they (India) never reached any agreement with Bangladesh.

— Md Khalequzzaman Professor of geology at Lock Haven University, USA

The Kushiyara river water-sharing agreement, signed between India and Bangladesh, was not a fair agreement, because through the deal, Bangladesh is asking permission from India to use its own water, said an expert yesterday.

Sarbojonkotha, a socio-economic and political magazine, yesterday organised a virtual press conference where Md Khalequzzaman, professor of geology at Lock Haven University of USA, claimed that the agreement was not signed as per the UN convention.

In his presentation, titled "Unanswered questions about the Kushiyara river water-sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh 2022," the professor said Kushiyara is not an isolated river, rather it's an integral part of Barak-Surma-Kushiyara-Meghna transboundary river system.

"As per the UN convention, Bangladesh has rights to equitable and fair share of water of the whole river system. Barak river flows through 45,000 square-kilometre area, within which there are six large and medium irrigation projects and six hydro-electric stations, for which they never reached any agreement with Bangladesh," he said.

"Then why would we need the permission to withdraw 153 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water from Kushiyara during the dry season?" he asked. "The agreement also didn't mention any compensation against the environmental damages caused by the irrigation and power projects in India."

The expert also said that it will set a bad precedent for the upcoming days about planning and managing water resources at a downstream country as it was not a fair deal.

He also said the government's claim to irrigate 10,000-hectare area with 153 cusecs of water was also far-fetched.

"With it, Bangladesh can  irrigate only a 3,750-hectare area," he said.

The press conference, titled "India-Bangladesh Relations: River, Border and Power", also highlighted the border situation and  Bangladesh's increasing  dependency on India for power and energy.

DU Prof Moshahida Sultana said the country's unused electricity is more that 40 percent now, so Bangladesh is increasing power import from India.

"After the ongoing projects, India's contribution in our power sector will jump to 16 percent from 8 percent," she said. If the project of fuel importing through pipelines from India starts, India's contribution in the fuel sector will be over 20 percent, she added.

"Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation would save $2-3 per barrel by importing through pipelines, but if the country would increase the refinery capacity, it could save over $11 per barrel," she said.

Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, professor of international relations at Dhaka University, said the border management issue got priority in every India tour of the prime minister since 2010, but nothing changed.

Mentioning BGB's data, he said from 2015 to June 2022, a total of 161 Bangladeshis were shot dead by India's BSF. "Even while the prime minister was visiting India, a schoolboy died on the Dinajpur border."

Prof Anu Muhammad, a retired teacher of economics at Jahangirnagar University, presided over the press conference.