Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured time and again that his government would not take any action that ‘affects Bangladesh adversely’. His friendly attitude towards Bangladesh reached the momentum when he stressed particularly on the endorsement of Teesta water sharing deal though West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banrjee thwarted the treaty. In Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent tour to India, Mamata demonstrated her long-carried stubbornness again in releasing water to downstream Bangladesh. Even a large portion of Indian media promoted for sharing water with Bangladesh. If the crisis is an internal one between the central and the provincial governments of India, they should resolve it immediately to prove that they consider Bangladesh as friend. India must realize that without letting sufficient water flow through the 54 shared rivers or stopping border killing or minimizing trade gap assuredly, their interest in selling electricity and weapons or widening connectivity in land and sea to realize their desire will never establish friendship between the countries.
Brahma Chellaney, a New Delhi based strategic affairs expert and the author of the book, Water: Asia’s New Battleground, said: “No important water-sharing treaty has been signed in the world in this century, indicating how increasing water stress is making sharing and cooperation more difficult.” Bangladesh and India share 54 rivers but none ‘evokes as much passion’ in Bangladesh as Teesta because the river is thinning alarmingly due to significantly inadequate water flow which is causing severe hazards for the country.
  The average flow of Teesta in the last ten days of March, (2015) considered a lean season, was 315 cusecs compared to 550 cusecs during the same period in 2014. The JRC (Joint Rivers Commission) chart shows Bangladesh received only 232 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of Teesta water on March 22, 2015 the lowest in history. The average flow of the Teesta in the last 10 days of March, 2015, the peak of the lean period, dropped to 315 cusecs in 2015 from 550 cusecs during the same period in 2014. It was 2,950 cusecs in 2013 and 3,506 cusecs in 2012 before Indian had built the Gazoldoba barrage in West Bengal. The average flow of the river during the last 10 days of March was 6,710 cusecs between 1973 and 1985. The water flow statistics shows the water has started reducing in Bangladesh part of the river since the deal was finalized during former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka tour in September 2011. Bangladesh is keen on the fair share of Teesta water because it is crucial for the country, especially in the leanest period from December to March when the water flow often temporarily comes down to less than 1,000 cusecs from 5,000 cusecs.
Insufficient water flow in the Teesta creates irreparable loss to the people and economy of Bangladesh. As the Teesta completely dries up during the lean period, people like boatmen, fishermen and others dependent on the river have meanwhile been forced to change their professions. As of 2015, more than 3000 boatmen and 5000 fishermen were forced to leave their generations-old professions due to lack of water in the Teesta. Farmers are also struggling hard to grow crops, the official said. A study showed that 5427 villages in Bangladesh depend on the river. According to Agriculture Extension Department (AED) officials in Lalmonirhat, no crops can be grown on around 30,000 acres of land in 90 chars and villages in the district during the lean period. In addition, the river without water causes another problem for the char people as they have to walk for miles of sandy land; specially, students find it very difficult to attend schools and colleges miles away.
Water Resources and River Development Minister of India Uma Bharti reiterated Modi’s assurance of ‘finding a fair solution’ to the Teesta river water sharing deadlock with Bangladesh. Defining Mamata Banarjee as ‘hardly happy on any issue’, the minister revealed the central government’s stand on the issue. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed on the fair share of Teesta River between Bangladesh and India in presence of Mamata Banarjee on 8 April during her India tour, but the West Bengal Chief Minister reinstated her position against Bangladesh. This is a position initiative of the Modi government as they have decided to send a team of hydrologists to Sikkim state, the source of the Teesta (and close to West Bengal) to survey eight dams built upstream of Teesta to check availability of water during the lean season. Prime Minister Modi expressed his interest in finding a ‘fair solution’ to the long-pending Teesta and Feni river water sharing issues during his Bangladesh visit in 2015.  
The Teesta agreement of 2011 proposed to share the river’s water 50:50, the same as the 1996 Ganges water-sharing pact between the neighbors but Mamata refused to endorse that. The deal was set to be inked during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh in September 2011 but was postponed at the last minute due to objections by West Bengal Chief Minister. In 2011, it was also finalized that Bangladesh and India would share the water of the Gazoldoba point equally after keeping a certain portion for the river; but Mamata thwarted the deal.
During Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India, Bangladesh signed 11 deals and 25 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with India. Two countries signed 13 agreements and MoUs worth around $9 billion on cooperation between various public and private organizations.
Despite Mamata’s continuous rejection of the Teesta Treaty, Sheikh Hasina showed cooperative and friendly gesture to Mamata by endorsing her proposal request of importing 500 MW electricity. India shouldn’t consider this approach as a weakness of Bangladesh. If India considers Bangladesh as a friend as they reiterate frequently, they should immediately get the Teesta Treaty done. This is the time for action; mere words will not work anymore. If they look for other unilateral or bilateral issues keeping the rivers dried, the relation between the countries will shatter because friendship cannot grow in master-slave ambiance.
 
The writer teaches at a university in Saudi Arabia. He can be reached at [email protected])