Kolkata:

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday asserted that her government is opposed to any agreement between India and Bangladesh over sharing of the Teesta River water.

Maintaining that she loves the people of Bangladesh, Ms Banerjee said sharing Teesta water will mean “depriving northern West Bengal of even drinking water”, let alone any provision for irrigation purposes.

Speaking in the assembly on a resolution regarding erosion control and flood mitigation in West Bengal, Ms Banerjee said the Teesta River has very little water during the winter and summer seasons.

Ms Banerjee also alleged that the state government was not invited to discussions between India and Bangladesh over the renewal of the Farakka treaty, stating that her state is a stakeholder in the issue, as river Ganga flows into the neighbouring nation from West Bengal.

Last month, Ms Banerjee had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing “strong reservations” over the Centre “excluding” the West Bengal government from discussions with Bangladesh regarding Teesta water sharing and the Farakka treaty.

Ms Banerjee, in the communication, had also blamed the construction of a “series of hydropower projects in Sikkim, deforestation in the upper catchment and impact of climate change” as reasons behind the Teesta River’s health suffering.

Maintaining that her government has given whatever was possible to Bangladesh for the sake of brotherhood with the neighbouring nation, Banerjee said that she cannot go into any agreement by compromising the interest of the people of West Bengal.

Accusing the BJP government at the Centre of trying to give away water of West Bengal without considering its interests, Banerjee said that West Bengal is the main stakeholder but is not being consulted on the issue.

She said that vast areas in Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts were affected by floods in Ganga River’s lower catchment areas.

Ms Banerjee said that funds amounting to over Rs 700 crore promised to the state by the Centre during the 1996 renewal of the Farakka water treaty were not given.

She said that her government has spent Rs 350 crore to stop the erosion of the Ganga.

Ms Banerjee claimed that the Centre has discussed the issues of water sharing of Teesta and renewal of the Farakka water treaty, which is due in 2026, with Bangladesh, without keeping West Bengal in the loop.

Maintaining that the West Bengal government was kept in the loop earlier, be it starting of train or bus services between India and Bangladesh, she said that this was not done by the BJP government at the Centre this time.

Asserting that it is a “clear blow to federal unity,” she said, “I have strong reservations on this.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Sending a technical team by India to Bangladesh soon for a mega project to conserve and manage Teesta river, moving ahead to start negotiations on a comprehensive trade pact and boosting defence ties were among major outcomes of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.

The two sides signed 10 agreements providing for bolstering ties in a range of critical areas such as digital domain, maritime sphere, blue economy, railways, space, green technology, health and medicine.

Both sides also firmed up a “futuristic vision” for bringing transformative cooperation between the two “trusted” neighbours in a raft of new areas.

A major focus of the talks between the two prime ministers was to explore ways to shore up India-Bangladesh cooperation in digital and energy connectivity even as both sides resolved to work towards peaceful management of borders between the two countries.

In his remarks to the media, Modi, describing people-to-people contacts as the foundation of ties between the two nations, said India will launch an e-medical visa facility for people from Bangladesh coming to India for medical treatment.

India has also decided to open a new assistant high commission in Rangpur.

In the talks, Modi and Hasina also resolved to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation including in areas of defence production and modernisation of Bangladeshi armed forces and agreed to enhance engagement on countering terrorism and radicalisation.

The issue of Rohingya refugees as well as the situation in Myanmar and boosting regional cooperation under the framework of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) grouping also figured in the talks.

“We have decided to start negotiations at the technical level for the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty,” Prime Minister Modi said.

“On the conservation and management of the Teesta river in Bangladesh, a technical team will soon visit Bangladesh for talks,” he said in his media statement, The mega project assumed significance as China too apparently showed interest in it. Under the project, it is envisaged to build large reservoirs and related infrastructure to manage and conserve Teesta river water.

The move on the project comes amid a long-pending proposal to have a pact on sharing of Teesta water between the two countries.

The deal was set to be signed during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Bangladesh in September 2011, but it was postponed at the last minute due to objections by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

At a media briefing, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said India plans to undertake conservation and management of the Teesta River inside Bangladesh with suitable Indian assistance.

In his remarks, Modi said Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner and New Delhi attaches highest priority to its relations with that country.

“Bangladesh is situated at the confluence of our Neighbourhood First policy, Act East policy, Vision SAGAR and Indo-Pacific vision.

India has been cooperating with the countries of the Indian Ocean region under the broader policy framework of SAGAR or Security and Growth for all in the Region.

“We have kept our focus on connectivity, commerce and collaboration. In the last 10 years, we have restored the connectivity that existed before 1965,” Modi said.

“Now we will emphasise more on digital and energy connectivity. This will give impetus to the economies of both countries,” he said.

“To take our economic relations to new heights, both sides have agreed to start negotiations on CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement),” he said.

The prime minister said both sides decided to expand defence cooperation as well.

“We had extensive discussions on further strengthening defence cooperation, from defence production to modernisation of armed forces,” he said.

“We have decided to strengthen our engagement on counter-terrorism, de-radicalisation and peaceful management of borders.” “We share a common vision for the Indian Ocean region. We welcome Bangladesh’s decision to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative,” he said.

In her remarks, Hasina described India as Bangladesh’s major neighbour and a trusted friend.

“India is our major neighbour, trusted friend, and regional partner. Bangladesh greatly values our relations with India, which were born out of the War of Liberation in 1971,” she said.

“I recall with gratitude the contribution of the government and the people of India to Bangladesh’s independence,” she said.

Hasina also paid homage to the “brave fallen heroes of India” who sacrificed their lives in the 1971 war.

“Today, we had very productive meetings where we discussed cooperation in areas of security, trade, connectivity, sharing of water from common rivers, power and energy, and regional and multilateral cooperation,” she said.

The Bangladesh prime minister began her two-day visit to India on Friday.

It is the first incoming bilateral state visit by a foreign leader after the formation of the new government in India following the Lok Sabha elections.

In the morning, Hasina visited Rajghat and paid rich tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.

Ahead of the talks, the visiting leader was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the fore-court of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Officials said the focus of the Modi-Hasina talks would be to impart a new momentum to the bilateral ties including in areas of trade, connectivity and energy.

Hasina was among seven top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union council of ministers on June 9.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)