Teesta deal sees no light as Mamata matters

It brought cheers for a moment when smiling West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the room at HyderabadHouse yesterday afternoon where over 100 journalists were waiting to listen to the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and India after their bilateral talks, reports UNB. Mamata who is blamed for delaying the Teesta Water-sharing Deal between Bangladesh and India was seen exchanging pleasantries with the officials in the room.
Minutes later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi stepped into the room.
Modi, in his speech, tried to draw Mamata's attention and make her understand that it is important for his government to get her green signal to the Teesta to show that India can deliver its commitments, even though late.
The Indian Prime Minister, keeping Hasina by his side, made it clear that he is serious about resolving the Teesta issue.”I firmly believe that it is only my government and Excellency Sheikh Hasina, your government, that can and will find an early solution to Teesta Water Sharing,” Modi said while addressing the joint press meet in front of Mamata.
It seems that Modi wanted to convey a strong message to Mamata so that she should come on the board on the Teesta issue without further delay.
Modi acknowledged that the Teesta is one of the issues that has attracted the greatest attention.
“This is important for India, for Bangladesh and for India-Bangladesh relationship. I’m very happy the Chief Minister of West Bengal is my honoured guest today,” he said.
Apparently to convince Mamata, Modi also said, “I know that her (Mamata) feelings for Bangladesh are as warm as my own. I assure you and the people of Bangladesh of our commitment and continuing efforts.”
Bangladesh and India share one of the longest land boundaries and during Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June 2015, two countries had concluded the Land Boundary Agreement.
Modi said, “Its implementation is now underway. Along with our shared land boundaries are our shared rivers. They sustain our peoples and their livelihoods.”
The crucial water-sharing agreement, negotiated over nearly 20 years, still remained unsettled as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is opposed to it.
The Teesta is one of cross-boundary rivers between Bangladesh and India.
The latest draft of the agreement was prepared by Dr Manmohan Singh’s government. It divides the waters of the Teesta equally between Bangladesh and India. Teesta originates in Sikkim and flows through West Bengal into Bangladesh.
In 2011, Dr Singh was preparing to sign the treaty during a trip to Dhaka, but at the last minute, Mamata stepped back stating that the terms were damaging for her state.
The Indian side made it clear before the visit that the Teesta deal is not going to be signed this time though, according to diplomatic sources, discussion is on to sign the deal well ahead of the next national election in Bangladesh.
 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her speech, said shediscussed the issues of water resource management, including the sharing of water of common rivers like Teesta, the Padma-Ganges Barrage Project and basin-wide management of common rivers during her meeting with Modi.  “I sincerely believe we shall be able to get India’s support in resolving these issues expeditiously,” she said.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Bangladesh High Commissioner in New Delhi and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla were also seen exchanging views with Mamata who entered the room five minutes ahead of the two Prime Ministers’ arrival.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the dinner he is hosting for Hasina which is seen as an effort to break the ice on the Teesta.
Hasina and Mamata are likely to have one-to-one brief meetingtonight(Saturday night) or Sunday to discuss the Teesta issue.
When an India’s Foreign Ministry official’s attention was drawn on Teesta expectation, he said, “India-Bangladesh relation is not just about Teesta.”
Officials at the Ministry of External Affairs said they are still working on overcoming “internal difficulties” to resolve the Teesta water sharing issue. “You all know in our system we need to take the state government into confidence”. Officials in Dhaka said there are many positive aspects of the visit and discussion on Teesta is on. On Saturday, two countriessigned a number of other bilateral documents - 22 instruments - covering diverse areas of cooperation. These include economic cooperation, defense cooperation, peaceful use of nuclear energy, outer space, information technology, mass media, and so on.

 

 

Teesta deal sees no light as Mamata matters

It brought cheers for a moment when smiling West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered the room at HyderabadHouse yesterday afternoon where over 100 journalists were waiting to listen to the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and India after their bilateral talks, reports UNB. Mamata who is blamed for delaying the Teesta Water-sharing Deal between Bangladesh and India was seen exchanging pleasantries with the officials in the room. Minutes later, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi stepped into the room. Modi, in his speech, tried to draw Mamatas attention and make her understand that it is important for his government to get her green signal to the Teesta to show that India can deliver its commitments, even though late. The Indian Prime Minister, keeping Hasina by his side, made it clear that he is serious about resolving the Teesta issue.I firmly believe that it is only my government and Excellency Sheikh Hasina, your government, that can and will find an early solution to Teesta Water Sharing, Modi said while addressing the joint press meet in front of Mamata. It seems that Modi wanted to convey a strong message to Mamata so that she should come on the board on the Teesta issue without further delay. Modi acknowledged that the Teesta is one of the issues that has attracted the greatest attention. This is important for India, for Bangladesh and for India-Bangladesh relationship. Im very happy the Chief Minister of West Bengal is my honoured guest today, he said. Apparently to convince Mamata, Modi also said, I know that her (Mamata) feelings for Bangladesh are as warm as my own. I assure you and the people of Bangladesh of our commitment and continuing efforts. Bangladesh and India share one of the longest land boundaries and during Modis visit to Dhaka in June 2015, two countries had concluded the Land Boundary Agreement. Modi said, Its implementation is now underway. Along with our shared land boundaries are our shared rivers. They sustain our peoples and their livelihoods. The crucial water-sharing agreement, negotiated over nearly 20 years, still remained unsettled as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is opposed to it. The Teesta is one of cross-boundary rivers between Bangladesh and India. The latest draft of the agreement was prepared by Dr Manmohan Singhs government. It divides the waters of the Teesta equally between Bangladesh and India. Teesta originates in Sikkim and flows through West Bengal into Bangladesh. In 2011, Dr Singh was preparing to sign the treaty during a trip to Dhaka, but at the last minute, Mamata stepped back stating that the terms were damaging for her state. The Indian side made it clear before the visit that the Teesta deal is not going to be signed this time though, according to diplomatic sources, discussion is on to sign the deal well ahead of the next national election in Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her speech, said shediscussed the issues of water resource management, including the sharing of water of common rivers like Teesta, the Padma-Ganges Barrage Project and basin-wide management of common rivers during her meeting with Modi. I sincerely believe we shall be able to get Indias support in resolving these issues expeditiously, she said. Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Bangladesh High Commissioner in New Delhi and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla were also seen exchanging views with Mamata who entered the room five minutes ahead of the two Prime Ministers arrival. Indian President Pranab Mukherjee invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the dinner he is hosting for Hasina which is seen as an effort to break the ice on the Teesta. Hasina and Mamata are likely to have one-to-one brief meetingtonight(Saturday night) or Sunday to discuss the Teesta issue. When an Indias Foreign Ministry officials attention was drawn on Teesta expectation, he said, India-Bangladesh relation is not just about Teesta. Officials at the Ministry of External Affairs said they are still working on overcoming internal difficulties to resolve the Teesta water sharing issue. You all know in our system we need to take the state government into confidence. Officials in Dhaka said there are many positive aspects of the visit and discussion on Teesta is on. On Saturday, two countriessigned a number of other bilateral documents - 22 instruments - covering diverse areas of cooperation. These include economic cooperation, defense cooperation, peaceful use of nuclear energy, outer space, information technology, mass media, and so on.