Bangladesh's interim govt seeks to 'restart' Teesta water sharing talks with India

Bangladesh's interim government seeks to restart the dialogue on the Teesta water sharing treaty with India, country's adviser on water resources Syeda Rizwana Hasan, has said. She further asserted that upper-riparian and lower-riparian countries should adhere to international principles on the distribution of water.

In a conversation with news agency PTI in Dhaka, Hasan expressed confidence that the Teesta treaty and other water-sharing agreements with India would be resolved amicably through dialogue but suggested that Bangladesh might consider international legal documents and principles if an agreement cannot be reached.

“I have discussed the issue of Teesta water sharing with all relevant stakeholders (in Bangladesh). We have discussed that we need to restart the process and dialogue regarding the Teesta treaty. We also have to work on the Ganges treaty, which is coming to an end in two years,” she told PTI in an interview on Sunday.

“Both sides agreed, and a draft of the Teesta water-sharing agreement was prepared, but the agreement was not signed due to the opposition of the West Bengal Chief Minister. The fact remains that we have not been able to finalise the agreement. So, we will start from that point with the draft of the agreement and urge India to come forward and restart the dialogue process,” she said.