Bangladesh Says Ready To Approach Global Forums On Teesta Water Sharing Issue Amid Mamata Banerjee's Opposition

Bangladesh is contemplating taking the Teesta waters dispute to an international forum, according to Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the new adviser on water, forest, environment, and climate change in the interim government in the violence-hit nation.

Referring to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s strong opposition to Teesta water sharing issue, Hasan noted that the interim government, under the leadership of Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus, plans to address the matter of shared rivers with India "forcefully".

In July, Banerjee had reiterated her opposition to sharing Teesta waters with Bangladesh.

Such a sharing arrangement would leave no water for the people of north Bengal, Banerjee had said.

“We will not back down from presenting the rights of Bangladesh on the waters of the Teesta. You must have seen that in India, Mamata Banerjee says that she will not give us water while depriving her own people. So we will bring up the aspirations of our people living along the banks of the Teesta to the table,” Hasan said at a press conference, The Hindu reported.

A well-known advocate for environmental and water resource issues in Bangladesh, Hasan—who won the 2012 Magsaysay award—revealed that the interim government would initiate talks with New Delhi on shared rivers, including the Teesta.

“The Joint River Commission has been negotiating on the Teesta waters, but this time we will include the people who live along the Teesta in Bangladesh,” she said.

“Whether we will get the water or not is not in our hands, but we will have to speak about the issue always. This we will convey very clearly to India,” said Hasan.

She noted that Bangladesh has agreements with India on shared rivers such as the Kushiyara and Feni.

She added that Dhaka and New Delhi would need to discuss the renewal of their 1996 Ganga water sharing agreement, which was originally signed during Sheikh Hasina’s first term as Prime Minister.

The Kushiyara agreement, finalised during Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in September 2022, marked the first shared river agreement between the two countries since the 1996 Ganga pact.

Despite ongoing discussions, the Teesta negotiations stalled during Hasina’s 15-year rule, which concluded on 5 August following a large-scale public uprising that led to her government’s fall.

Outlining her responsibility to protect Bangladesh’s interests in shared rivers, Hasan stated, “We will maintain friendly relations with India, but we will present our claims and demands forcefully and may even approach international platforms to speak about our just demands.”

She added that Bangladesh had received invitations from several nations, including China, to discuss water-related issues.

“Wherever we feel necessary, we will send our interlocutor,” Ms. Hasan said.

The issue of shared rivers resurfaced on Wednesday, with parts of eastern Bangladesh, especially Comilla and Moulavibazar, facing severe flooding due to heavy rainfall in neighbouring Tripura in recent days.

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