Teesta water agreement hits choppy waters
September 5th, 2011 - 7:29 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) There will be no agreement on the sharing of the Teesta river waters without the consultation of the West Bengal government, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said Monday, a day ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two-day visit to Dhaka.
“Nothing is done and nothing will be done without the consultation with the state government,” Mathai told reporters. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has refused to accompany the prime minister to Dhaka to protest the final draft of the Teesta river water sharing agreement with Bangladesh.
The Teesta, which begins its journey in Sikkim, flows through north Bengal before entering Bangladesh.
Banerjee’s unhappiness stemmed from the amount of water sharing of the Teesta mentioned in the final draft of the agreement that was slated to be signed during the Sep 6-7 visit of the prime minister.
“There was difference between the initial draft of the agreement and the final version. The state government had agreed on sharing of up to 25,000 cusecs. But the final version talks of sharing 33,000-50,000 cusecs,” a source close to Banerjee had said in Kolkata.
“She feels this will hurt West Bengal’s interests,” the source said.
The other river on the India-Bangladesh discussion table is the Feni.
The Feni, which flows 135 km south of Tripura capital Agartala, has been in dispute since 1934. In a total catchment area of 1,147 square km of the river, 535 square km falls in India and the rest in Bangladesh.
On the Feni river, Mathai said that things were as per plan.
Manmohan Singh will now be accompanied by the chief ministers of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram on the trip that comes four decades after the India-Pakistan war had led to the birth of Bangladesh.
- Mamata's no show for Dhaka embarrasses PM, UPA - Sep 05, 2011
- PM's Dhaka trip: Teesta pact unlikely - Sep 06, 2011
- Not able to conclude Teesta agreement: Mathai - Sep 07, 2011
- Bangladesh, a country that shares 54 rivers with India - Sep 06, 2011
- Miffed Mamata not to accompany PM to Dhaka - Sep 04, 2011
- With Mamata out, four CMs to accompany PM to Dhaka - Sep 05, 2011
- Teesta accord was without stakeholders' consent: LF - Sep 07, 2011
- Mathai meets Mamata, says talks positive - Feb 18, 2012
- A Bangladeshi invite for Mamata: Will she go? - Feb 20, 2012
- Besides Teesta accord, Dhaka wants enclaves issue resolved - Jul 26, 2012
- Tripura hopes for solution to river disputes with Bangladesh - Sep 04, 2011
- Bangladesh ministers say Teesta pact will be done - Sep 06, 2011
- Dhaka, Delhi to exchange Teesta river data - Sep 30, 2011
- Dhaka demands to know why Delhi postponed Teesta deal - Sep 06, 2011
- 'No Teesta accord, so no transit to India' - Sep 06, 2011
Tags: agartala, catchment area, chief ministers, choppy waters, cusecs, feni river, india pakistan war, initial draft, mamata banerjee, manmohan, manmohan singh, mathai, meghalaya, north bengal, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, ranjan, river waters, water agreement, west bengal government