The Hindu : Front Page : Dhaka, Delhi conclude water talks

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Wednesday, Jan 06, 2010
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Dhaka, Delhi conclude water talks

Haroon Habib

DHAKA: Bangladesh and India have agreed to resolve outstanding issues relating to water sharing and decided that they will jointly start work for the protection of banks of the common rivers.

The consensus came at the end of the two-day crucial water talks at the Secretary level here on Tuesday.

Water Resources Secretary Umesh Narayan Panjiar told journalists that the dredging of the Isamati river would start on February 1. On the Teesta deal, he said the talks narrowed the gap but further talks were needed.

“The meeting, recognising the suffering of the people of both sides in the face of scarcity of lean season flows of the Teesta river, discussed at length and expressed that the sharing of the Teesta waters between India and Bangladesh should be concluded expeditiously,” the two sides said in a joint statement.

The talks were held in the hope of crafting an accord for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to sign in Delhi later next week.

The Bangladesh side was headed by Water Resources Secretary Shaikh Mohammed Wahid-uz-Zaman while Mr. Panjiar headed a seven-member Indian delegation. “We arrived at a situation which will benefit the people of the two countries,” Mr. Zaman told journalists.

Mr. Panjiar said: “We have narrowed down differences of approach between the two countries, which will contribute to the sharing of Teesta waters.”

Dhaka has been pressing New Delhi for decades for a deal on the common river Teesta, on which Bangladesh has its largest irrigation project covering 7,50,000 hectares in the greater Rangpur region. The joint press statement said talks between the two countries would continue on the Teesta river. It was also agreed to continue talks on the modalities for withdrawal of water from the Feni river by both sides for the minor lift irrigation schemes.

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