Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned from the water summit in Thailand a few days back, where she delivered an address on trans-border water sharing and the settling of international water conflicts.
We are however, yet to see any settlement on most of our water-sharing issues with India, the most pressing of which is the Teesta.
It’s surprising that the PM didn’t mention this matter at the summit, a perfect place to do so, but she went an extra mile the wrong way by citing our Ganges water sharing agreement with India as an example of successful cooperation, an agreement which, for many, leaves much to be desired.
But that’s not the worst of it. The Teesta in Bangladesh is drying up rapidly and, as one of the major sources of water for the northern regions, which account for 14% of the nation’s total cropland, this spells massive calamity.
Unfortunately, that calamity is guaranteed once India’s plans for 23 hydropower projects begin operating later this year.
Additionally, an Indian barrage on their side of the Teesta River diverts copious amounts of water away from Bangladesh, and the absence of any agreement at all means the country isn’t obliged to behave any differently.
A water sharing agreement was in the making until the chief minister of West Bengal shot it down last year. Since then very little headway has been made in subsequent diplomatic meetings.
In light of that, the PM’s optimistic comments about the possibility of “judicious settlements” seem to hold very little water.