The Joint Rivers Commission will hold its 38th meeting – three years after the last one – on June 18-19 in Dhaka to resolve the crises over sharing waters of common rivers, particularly the Teesta and Feni.
Dhaka will give top priority to the issue of Teesta River at the much awaited ministerial-level meeting, which will discuss water-sharing of seven trans-boundary rivers of Bangladesh and India along with a few other matters.
Indian diplomats in Dhaka, however, said the Teesta issue would not get much importance as it was too critical to resolve now.
“We have been waiting for a long time to resolve the issue, but it could not be resolved because of the objection from the West Bengal government,” an Indian official told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
“It will take more time…A political consensus between the central and West Bengal governments of India is a must to determine the issue.
“The central government is trying to reach a consensus as soon as possible. We will have to wait until then,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Altaf Ali, senior secretary of the water resources ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune that as it is a bilateral joint meeting, the issues for discussion would be settled after the meeting has started.
“The meeting will decide the agenda of discussion on the basis of priority after issues are tabled from both sides,” he said.
He informed the Dhaka Tribune that the government had sent a summary of discussion – the working paper – to the Prime Minister’s Office for the premier’s approval.
“The Bangladesh delegation will try to discuss issues following the working paper. The issue of water-sharing of the Teesta River will get top priority.”
According to the working paper sent to the PMO, a fourteen-member delegation of Bangladesh will participate in the meeting under the leadership of Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen while his counterpart Harish Rawat will lead the Indian team.
The last meeting of the JRC was held in India on March 17-20 in 2010.
The issues of India lifting water from the Feni River and water-sharing of the Monu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gomoti, Dhorola and Dudhkumar rivers will be discussed in the meeting.
The Bangladesh delegation will also raise the issue of implementation of the treaty on Ganges water-sharing at Farakka point and augmentation of Ganges water flow during dry season. The treaty was signed in 1996.
The Bangladesh side will raise the issues of protection of these river banks, expansion of the coordination on flood forecast and warning between the two countries, India’s plan to construct Tipaimukh dam on the Borak, its river-linking project, basin-based comprehensive water management system, sub-regional cooperation on hydropower and water management, and India’s plan for construction of Mawphu Dam and Myntdu Dam in Meghalaya.
India is planning to build a dam across the Umiew River to build Mawphu Hydroelectric Project in East Khasi hills and another dam across the Myntdu River for the second phase of Myntdu-Leshka Hydroelectric Project in Jainta hills region. The two rivers flow into Bangladesh as Umiyam/Dhala River and Sari-Goain River along Sylhet border.
Bangladesh will also raise the issues of dredging the Ichhamoti River and implementation of the Ganges Barrage Project in Bangladesh.
