Teesta River dispute between India and Bangladesh
Recently, the Prime Minister has assured Bangladesh to make Teesta water sharing agreement.
Background:
- Discussion was started in the year 1951 on sharing of India’s water with East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh).
- Subsequently, in the year 1984, a Joint River Commission was formed which decided to allocate 42.5 percent of the Teesta River to India, and 37.5 percent to Bangladesh.
- Based on the recommendations of the year 1984, an attempt was made to sign an agreement in the year 2011, but the Chief Minister of West Bengal canceled the agreement.
- Subsequently, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, he visited Bangladesh with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and assured Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that they could reach a ‘fair solution’ on Teesta through cooperation In June 2015,
Teesta water dispute:
- Stance of Bangladesh – Since the Teesta River enters Bangladesh via India, India should use the river water in a proper way, which will continue to provide water for the use of their country.
- Stance of India –In India, six districts of North Bengal in West Bengal depend on the Teesta River.
- Therefore, West Bengal says that the water is not so much that it can distribute according to what Bangladesh wants.
- Bangladesh demands 50% of the water of this river. This river is also important for the north eastern region of West Bengal.
- 60 megawatts of electricity is being produced by the hydro power project built on this river in West Bengal.
- Besides, nine lakh twenty two thousand hectare land is also irrigated by this river. West Bengal and Sikkim together demand 55% water of this river.|
Teesta River:
- The river Teesta flows through Sikkim and West Bengal states of India and Bangladesh.
- Teesta is a 414 km long river, which originates from the Pahunri Glacier, located 7,096 meters above the Himalayas.
- In Bangladesh, it joins the Brahmaputra River. The Brahmaputra goes ahead and joins the Padma River. The Ganges River is called Padma in Bangladesh.
- Padma goes ahead and joins the Meghna River, and the Meghna River empties in the Bay of Bengal.
Source – Indian Express
