Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has requested India to immediately sign the much-awaited agreement for sharing water of the Teesta River, reports Indian news agency PTI.
She made the request during a meeting with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh.
Press Trust of India (PTI), the largest news agency in India, published the report on Sunday quoting the press secretary of the prime minister of Bangladesh.
“Teesta water sharing deal should be inked as soon as possible as Bangladesh needs more water in the lean period,” said AKM Shameem Chowdhury, Sheikh Hasina's press secretary.
The Teesta deal was set to be inked during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh in 2011 but was postponed at the last minute due to objections by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee.
LBA implementation, transit
Sheikh Hasina also hoped India would implement the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) which the two sides signed three years ago.
Singh, also the Minister of State with independent charge for North East Region, arrived at Dhaka on Saturday with a high-profile delegation of northeastern states to attend a day-long business conclave.
The Indian delegation included Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and commerce and industry minister of Tripura Tapan Chakraborty. The two were present during Singh's meeting with Hasina, who also urged India to provide transit to Bangladesh with Nepal and Bhutan through Indian territory.
"We also want transit from you, as we are already providing that facilities to you," Hasina said.
Chowdhury said Singh reassured Dhaka of providing the facility saying "yes, you will get it" and added that a railway line should be built along with the existing road that connects Bangladesh with Nepal and Bhutan.
Singh is the second Indian minister to tour Bangladesh since the visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in June after the assumption of the NDA government in office.
During her visit, Swaraj had said the NDA was seeking to reach an "internal consensus" in India on the Teesta deal.
The Teesta water is crucial for Bangladesh, especially in the leanest period from December to March when the water flow often temporarily comes down to less than 1,000 cusec from 5,000 cusec every year.
