The Teesta Mega Plan, long discussed as a development project, has become a defining test for northern Bangladesh’s safety, livelihoods, and water diplomacy. As debates over its implementation intensify, a key question dominates: whose voices are being heard, and are they truly shaping decisions?
Officials from the Ministry of Water Resources stress that the Teesta initiative is more than a dam or infrastructure. “Teesta is not just about building a structure; it is a question of comprehensive river basin management,” a senior official said.
Similarly, the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) emphasizes that without scientific dredging, modern sluice and gate systems, and digital flow monitoring, the project will fail to deliver its intended outcomes.
From very different points of view, river researchers and environmental scientists argue that the Teesta crisis stems from the disruption of its natural flow. When attempts are made to control a river, it often becomes more destructive. Coexistence with the river is the only sustainable path, they note. Others add that without coordination between upstream and downstream stakeholders, no standalone infrastructure can restore ecological balance, advocating instead for an integrated, basin-wide approach that respects natural river dynamics.
Renowned water expert and former Brac University vice chancellor Dr Ainun Nishat frames the issue beyond a narrow bilateral lens.
“The Teesta problem cannot be reduced to a Bangladesh–India dispute alone. It is fundamentally a river basin management issue. Without ensuring a scientifically determined minimum flow, no mega project will be sustainable in the long run,” he said.
Professor Ashok Swain of Sweden’s Uppsala University, a leading scholar on water conflict and cooperation, adds that Teesta is about more than diplomacy. Water sharing in transboundary rivers has become a matter of human security and climate risk.
Development planner and former MIT professor Dr Nazrul Islam warns against treating the plan purely as infrastructure.
“It must be seen as an opportunity for regional economic transformation—where agriculture, employment, and human development move forward together,” he said.
Economists also stress that targeted investment could alleviate chronic poverty and seasonal unemployment in northern districts, but caution that without transparency, accountability, and rigorous cost–benefit analysis, the mega project could become a fiscal liability.
Along the riverbanks, uncertainty dominates daily life. Farmers repeatedly cite unpredictable water availability. “One year there is no water and crops fail. The next year, sudden floods wash everything away,” said a farmer from Lalmonirhat. Fishers report declining catches in the dry season, while sudden monsoon currents destroy nets and boats.
For char dwellers, the sense of neglect is even sharper. “The river erodes our land, uprooting us repeatedly, yet rehabilitation rarely follows,” said a resident of a Teesta char.
From an engineering perspective, Professor Md Sirajul Islam of North South University stresses that technical design alone is insufficient.
“The engineering of the Teesta Mega Plan must account for natural flow regimes, sediment transport, and the impacts of climate change. Ignoring these factors will undermine infrastructure durability and increase long-term costs,” he said.
Diplomats and international relations analysts emphasize that Bangladesh must pursue pragmatic diplomacy. Domestic river management cannot be stalled indefinitely, but without a formal water-sharing agreement, a durable solution will remain elusive. “Preparation cannot stop in the absence of a treaty, but without one, lasting resolution will remain out of reach,” one analyst noted.
There is broad consensus: the success of the Teesta Mega Plan depends on whether government agencies, scientists, planners, economists, and—most importantly—riverbank communities can be meaningfully brought into a single, coherent framework. On paper, it is a development initiative. In reality, it embodies the hopes and insecurities of millions living along the Teesta.