New Delhi: India Friday confirmed that it has conveyed its views on the comprehensive management of the Teesta river with Bangladesh, following the assurances made by Beijing to aid Dhaka in the project.
“India’s development assistance for projects in Bangladesh is based on a mutually agreed roadmap, which is regularly reviewed. Our views on the Teesta River project have been previously conveyed to the Bangladesh side. We will factor all related developments in our overall approach to the Teesta issue,” Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a regular press briefing.
The assurances from China over the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project to Bangladesh last week during Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s visit to Beijing is a cause of concern for India.
In 2024, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had during her visit to India announced Dhaka’s willingness to work with India on the project. However, within two months of her visit to India, she was ousted following student-led protests across the country.
Ties between India and Bangladesh remain tense, due to a number of issues including illegal immigration. Rahman on his first visit to China as Prime Minister met with President Xi Jinping and Chinese water resources minister Li Guoying.
China has consistently built dams on major rivers for power generation and is being considered to expedite a feasibility of the Teesta restoration project, which aims to turn the river into an important source of economic development within Bangladesh.
The Teesta project is politically sensitive for India. Dhaka is keen to manage the flow of the river to reduce flooding and improve irrigation and navigation systems.
The river flows from the Himalayan region into Sikkim and through West Bengal before entering Bangladesh. The river is near the Chicken’s Neck — the Siliguri corridor that connects India’s Northeast with the rest of the country.
Water sharing remains a key issue for India and Bangladesh. The two countries share roughly 54 transboundary rivers. The two countries were able to sign the Ganga Waters Treaty in 1996, which has formed the pillar of ties between New Delhi and Dhaka. The sharing of water of the Teesta remains disputed between India and Bangladesh.
Negotiations for an agreement for over four decades have yet to lead to an agreement. In 2011, then Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee protested against an agreement in the works between New Delhi and Dhaka, that eventually sank the deal.
Dhaka has since moved on and sought Chinese support for the management of the river. In 2016, PowerChina, a state-owned agency, signed an agreement to conduct a technical feasibility report on the river.
The river is important for the development of districts in Northern Bangladesh.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)