PM’s visit: Bangladesh, India want solution to Teesta, says minister

Bangladesh and India sincerely want a solution over Teesta water sharing during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to that country in April, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud said today.

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The Bangladesh premier will be visiting India on an invitation extended by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on April 7-10.

Bangladesh definitely wants to accomplish the pending Teesta water sharing agreement and the government is working on it to save the river and help agriculture of the country, Anisul Islam said.

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"The present government of India has goodwill to accomplish the agreement and they are trying to go for a resolution. I cannot talk about the timeframe right now whether the Teesta treaty will be signed during the visit, but both the governments are sincerely expecting to make a resolution," said the minister.

About proposed Ganges Barrage on the Padma river in Bangladesh, the minister said Bangladesh needs support from the Indian government to build the barrage as one-fourth of expected land to reserve Padma's water belongs to India.

The minister made the remarks while talking to journalists after participating as chief guest at a workshop titled "Assessment of the State of Water Resources" jointly organised by Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO) and Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) at Cirdap auditorium in Dhaka.

State Minister for Water Resources Muhammad Nazrul Islam and the ministry's Senior Secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan, WARPO Director General Sarafat Hossain Khan, IWM Executive Director M Monowar Hossain and its Director SM Mahbubur Rahman, also spoke.