OVER the past few decades, Bangladesh has had many unresolved issues with neighbouring India. Among them is an agreement on Teesta water sharing, an agreement that the Indian government has not yet shown the spirit to implement. But due to the current political crisis in the country, these agreements with India, which are centred on the national interest of Bangladesh, have largely fallen into the shadows. It is not seen in newspapers or in the pens of intellectuals. As a result, people are not able to know the update on this issue and are not able to show any reaction.
The informed citizens are, however, aware of how important this Teesta treaty is for Bangladesh and are still trying to discuss the importance. The role of irrigation in agriculture is immense in agriculture-oriented Bangladesh and Teesta Barrage project is being considered as a milestone in Bangladesh river based irrigation project. While the average irrigated land area of the country is 42 per cent, 83 per cent of the arable land in the Teesta Basin is under irrigation which is centred on the Teesta Barrage. India built the Teesta Barrage in 1973 at Gajoldoba in Jalpaiguri and Bangladesh at Doyani in Lalmonirhat for the use of the Teesta River water mainly for irrigation purposes. This is because as India is an upstream country, water has already been diverted through barrages and irrigation canals, making Bangladesh’s barrages ineffective and worthless in the dry season. During the monsoon, due to the complete release of this water by India floods and river erosion occur in Bangladesh. That is why ensuring a fair access to Teesta water is a major condition for alleviating the poverty of the people in the north.
The Teesta issue has been under discussion since the establishment of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission in 1982 with a view to the development of transboundary rivers. The success of this period was that in 1973, at the 25th meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission, Bangladesh and India agreed on an ad hoc agreement for the sharing of Teesta water. The agreement stated that 25 per cent water would be left for the flow of Teesta and the remaining 75 per cent water would be shared between India and Bangladesh in the ratio (39:36). But the agreement has not been implemented as there is no agreement on where and in what manner the water will be distributed. Since the signing of the Ganga Water Treaty on December 12, 1997, there have been several meetings on the Teesta but India and Bangladesh have not been able to agree on the Teesta. Following this, when prime minister Sheikh Hasina visited India in January 2010, talks on Teesta water started anew and it is said that both the countries came a long way regarding the Teesta treaty during this visit. But at the last minute, foreign minister Dipu Moni said that despite the progress of the talks, there was no possibility of an agreement being reached during the prime minister’s visit.
During the visit of the prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, to Bangladesh in September 2011, all preparations were made for the signing of the Teesta treaty and the foreign minister of Bangladesh was also very optimistic that the Teesta treaty would be completed. But due to a strong opposition by the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, the Teesta treaty got stuck in September 2011. Mamata did not visit Bangladesh with the prime minister. And it was not possible to make this agreement without him. Mamata alleged that she was not shown the draft prepared by the Indian government for the agreement and that the formula the central government came up with was harming the interests of West Bengal. Later, however, the Indian side informed, keeping to Mamata, that 75 per cent of the Teesta water would be taken by India and 25 per cent by Bangladesh. As there was no Teesta treaty during the visit, there was a lot of criticism in the media of Bangladesh as well as India. The role of the government of India in advancing friendly relations with Bangladesh was also questioned.
Shortly afterwards, Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid visited Bangladesh in February 2013, and various sources said that his visit was significant for various reasons. However, a few days before Salman Khurshid’s visit, Indian foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai came to Bangladesh to discuss bilateral issues and promised Teesta treaty. Salman Khurshid discussed a number of issues and, on his way out, he appeared to have given ‘assurances’ about a possible agreement on the sharing of Teesta water. Even then it was said that the agreement was likely to be reached without the consent of Mamata Banerjee. However, he also assured Bangladesh that the 1974 Indira-Mujib Accord would soon be approved by the Indian parliament. The Indian cabinet took a positive decision in this regard. Opposition groups called for the beleaguered prime minister to resign. Then on March 2–3, 2013, the Bengali president of India Pranab Mukherjee came to Dhaka. It was then thought that during Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Dhaka, the Bangladesh government would discuss with the Indian president various important and unresolved issues with India, especially the Teesta water sharing agreement as the agreement had been pending for a long time. Eventually he too went through with the promise that the Teesta treaty would be signed very soon. The reality is that many high-level visits have taken place, but nothing about the Teesta deal, because the big factor in this deal is Mamata Banerjee. It is questionable how the Bangladesh government is reacting to this. Moreover, the government is busy dealing with the political violence that has started in Bangladesh. We also do not have the skills to persuade India through diplomatic efforts. There are also questions about the efficiency of those who have so far been experienced in water resources in the Teesta treaty.
Meanwhile, after beating the drum of friendship with India, it was informed that Bangladesh will get 25 per cent water, which in no way is possible for Bangladesh to agree on. On the other hand, even if India does not sign this agreement, there is no problem for it as India does not have to wait for any agreement with downstream Bangladesh to use Teesta water upstream. But in the meantime, India has once again reassured Bangladesh about the Teesta treaty. On April 16, 2013, a news item was published in the daily Samakal under the headline ‘India’s new initiative on Teesta treaty’. It was said that Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh had taken the initiative to sign the Teesta Treaty before the general elections in Bangladesh.
Similar talks and promises on the water sharing of the Teesta River have come and go, while India has been awarded transhipment facilities by Bangladesh, in the meantime.
It still remains to be seen when the friendly neighbour India comes to sign a treaty and give the Bangladeshi people a fair access to Teesta water and other trasboundary rivers.
Dr SM Jahangir Alam, a former tax commissioner and director of BSCL, is a freedom fighter.