Teesta pact: Bangladesh pushes for China's intervention

[Species]

In case you antagonize India, would you even have water on these rivers to invite china for constructing barrages etc?

They will harvest rain waters and block the rivers from upstream during the flood seasons.

 

[idune]

In case you antagonize India, would you even have water on these rivers to invite china for constructing barrages etc?

Bangladesh is not getting any water today, so there is no loss involving China. India already painted itself where it belongs......

 

[MULUBJA]

Teesta pact: Bangladesh pushes for China's intervention
Gautam Lahiri | 30 March 2017 12:15 AM | Dhaka

Teesta pact: Bangladesh pushes for China To resolve the Teesta river water sharing agreement with India, Bangladesh has proposed a unique idea to include China in the river water management programme. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina's advisor HT Imam, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister, said that China should be brought into the picture and all the three countries should discuss the matter. Immediately, after saying so he clarified that it was his personal opinion.

Excerpts: On the proposed defence deal, Imam said, "it is not really a defence treaty or agreement in the traditional sense, more about defence cooperation, which as a matter of fact we have been doing for some time for example in security, terror, which we had first started when the Awami League came back to power in January 2009."

Will there be an agreement on joint production of defence equipment?

This is something I cannot comment on, as that is still under wraps. The PM is the defence minister, and with the foreign ministry they are handling this. Cooperation would mean, naturally, against external aggression, and within the country, if there are threats to the security of India or Bangladesh, naturally we will cooperate with each other.

How about the Teesta river agreement and the issue of 54 shared rivers between India and Bangladesh? Has there been any progress on the agreement inked in 2011? You see, for domestic purposes, we have seen in the past too that water has been used as a political tool. It was the same with the Farakkha barrage and the Ganges water treaty. But when Sheikh Hasina first became PM in 1996, it was the first thing she did, and since then we haven't had much trouble with that. We have heard the interview of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee where she has said that she hasn't been consulted on the issue yet, but that perhaps she has been invited now, and she has no problem sharing water with Bangladesh, but for her, the interest of West Bengal comes first.

Apart from all of this, I also wonder if we can approach the upper riparian region of Teesta and Brahmputra…that is China. We hear often from reports in India that China has built barrages and diverted water of these regions…so we can discuss these. China should also be brought into the picture and we should speak with them. Have you discussed the possibility of involving China in your talks with India yet? No. This is my personal opinion only. We have been discussing this. But it will need discussion with India at the political level.

Have you had any response from India about whether they are willing to discuss the Teesta agreement during this visit? Has there been any movement since 2011?

They had discussed Teesta at the Joint Rivers Commission about two months ago. They discussed all the rivers. Even the most intractable problems have been resolved when they are discussed at the highest levels, so we hope that can happen. There is much speculation, but what you are seeing is the tip of the iceberg, wait until the visit to see the whole iceberg. Are you expecting PM Hasina would meet CM Mamata Banerjee who could mediate a resolution to the Teesta logjam? If there is an occasion to meet I am sure they will meet. I think it is significant that PM Hasina will be staying at Rashtrapati Bhawan and I know personally that Ms. Banerjee's relations with the President of India is very cordial. She is treated like his daughter.

When I visited India in 2010 ahead of PM Hasina's last bilateral visit, I called on Mr. Mukherjee as Finance Minister. He immediately called her and in Bangla said,"Tui," and added, "Mamata, please come and meet someone. " When she came I told her that as railway minister she could help us rebuild the railway lines from Bangladesh to Sealdah to Siliguri, that I remembered taking as a child. India is now a big supplier of railway infrastructure, rolling stock etc., and Ms. Banerjee was instrumental in starting our railway cooperation. Have you contacted her directly now? No, I had visited Kolkata in December 2016, but didn't get the chance to meet her. Thrice in the past few months, PM Hasina has postponed her visit for various reasons. Is the atmosphere now right for her visit?

Read more at: http://www.millenniumpost.in/nation/teesta-pact-bangladesh-pushes-for-chinas-intervention-229562
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Good move by Indian dalal govt. led by La-Hasina !!

India has unilaterally give many concession to BD in water sharing as per Gujaral doctrine. BD must know that any attempt to get any other party involved will not only not serve any purpose but shall prove counter productive.

 

[bluesky]

Bangladesh is not getting any water today, so there is no loss involving China. India already painted itself where it belongs......

Sir @idune, I am not really aware that a part of China is in the south of Himalaya. If not at south, tell me why China can be made to play a role in the Teesta water sharing discussion?

 

[TopCat]

Welcome back @bluesky

 

[Mage]

Sir @idune, I am not really aware that a part of China is in the south of Himalaya. If not at south, tell me why China can be made to play a role in the Teesta water sharing discussion?

Do you expect a sensible reply from him?

 

[Exiled_Soldier]

Yes thats the way mr unelected PM adviser. You call China to annex Sikkim, I mean call China to be party where they have no stake. But be silent during tug war of Brahmaputra

 

[Homo Sapiens]

In case you antagonize India, would you even have water on these rivers to invite china for constructing barrages etc?

It can work in a both way.If BD block Ganges at the entry point of BD during monsoon season when we don't need river water coming from India than it will flood huge areas of West Bengal and Bihar.This is one of the reason Mamata is against Ganges Barrage project of BD. She doesn't want to Bangladesh have any card to play.

 

[Flynn Swagmire]

It can work in a both way.If BD block Ganges at the entry point of BD during monsoon season when we don't need river water coming from India than it will flood huge areas of West Bengal and Bihar.This is one of the reason Mamata is against Ganges Barrage project of BD. She doesn't want to Bangladesh have any card to play.

Really? Then what we are waiting for?

 

[Al-zakir]

Deception tactics to save sinking boat. Awami media trying to revive Awami's long lost image as patriotic party but Bd Awam knows very well that Awami was, is and will be India's Ghulam party.

 

[Homo Sapiens]

Really? Then what we are waiting for?

This project is in pipeline since the Pakistani period.It a hugely costly project like another Padma bridge and BD don't want to antagonize India by unilaterally doing it. That's why Sheikh Hasina is trying to get no objection from India and want to make partner in this project.Narendra Modi is positive but Mamata is against it.

 

[H!TchHiker]

This project is in pipeline since the Pakistani period.It a hugely costly project like another Padma bridge and BD don't want to antagonize India by unilaterally doing it. That's why Sheikh Hasina is trying to get no objection from India and want to make partner in this project.Narendra Modi is positive but Mamata is against it.

If it benefits you why there is a need of Nod from Modi..?What if modi says no..Then Bangladesh will not peruse ?

 

[bluesky]

Yes thats the way mr unelected PM adviser. You call China to annex Sikkim, I mean call China to be party where they have no stake. But be silent during tug war of Brahmaputra

Dear Advisor to Indian PM: Note that Sikkim is at the south of the Himalaya and Teesta starts somewhere there. We can assume a non-involvement of China. But, Brahmaputra starts at the northern Kashmir at the west and streams down through the northern edge of the Himalaya. It traverses downward to south in Arunachal, enters Assam and then enters BD.

Considering that this mighty river traverses about 80% of its route through the Chinese land, how it is invalid when China talks on its sharing among the three countries? Why should it constitute a crime to India?

 

[Flynn Swagmire]

This project is in pipeline since the Pakistani period.It a hugely costly project like another Padma bridge and BD don't want to antagonize India by unilaterally doing it. That's why Sheikh Hasina is trying to get no objection from India and want to make partner in this project.Narendra Modi is positive but Mamata is against it.

What exactly is the problem of momota didi?

 

[bluesky]

Really? Then what we are waiting for?

Ganges Barrage will be a $20 billion project. BD cannot finance it with its own money and no world financial group would donate a single dollar unless the economic benefits are certain.