Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus calls for resolution of Teesta water-sharing dispute with India
- In Reports
- 06:03 PM, Sep 06, 2024
- Myind Staff
Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser, Muhammad Yunus, has called for a resolution to the long-standing Teesta water-sharing dispute with India, emphasising the need to address the issue according to international norms. In an interview with PTI, Yunus highlighted that delays in resolving the water-sharing treaty are unproductive for both nations.
“The water-sharing issue between the two countries must be resolved according to international norms,” Yunus said. He stressed that lower riparian countries like Bangladesh have specific rights that need to be upheld. “By sitting over this issue, it is not serving any purpose. If I know how much water I will get, even if I am not happy and sign it, it would be better. This issue has to be resolved,” he added.
Responding to questions about whether the interim government would expedite the resolution of the Teesta treaty, Yunus stated, “Push is a big word; I am not saying it. We will pursue it. But we have to sit together and resolve it.” The deal, which was set to be signed during then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in 2011, was not finalised after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declined to endorse it, citing water scarcity in her state.
Yunus reiterated that Bangladesh aims to uphold its rights as a lower riparian country. “We have to resolve this issue according to international norms. The lower riparian countries have certain rights, and we want those rights,” he said.
These remarks follow statements by Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the interim government’s Adviser on Water Resources, who had earlier affirmed that Dhaka would seek to restart dialogue with New Delhi on the Teesta water-sharing treaty. Hasan emphasised the need for both countries to adhere to international water-sharing principles.
Regarding the ongoing flood situation in Bangladesh, which has affected nearly three million people and posed significant challenges to the interim government, Yunus suggested a humanitarian approach. “When the High Commissioner of India came to meet me, I said that we can work on better management to see how the situation can be controlled during the floods. For such coordination between two countries, we don’t need any treaty,” he said. Yunus proposed working together on humanitarian grounds to alleviate the suffering caused by the floods.
The recent monsoon-induced floods in deltaic Bangladesh and upstream Indian regions have resulted in numerous fatalities and widespread displacement. India has denied claims from Bangladesh that the floods were caused by the opening of a dam on the Gumti River in Tripura. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India has described these reports as factually incorrect, stating that floods in shared rivers are a “shared” problem that requires mutual cooperation.
Addressing the contentious issue of border killings, Yunus condemned the practice, calling it “callousness.” He stated, “Killing someone is not a solution, as there are legal ways to deal with this. There has to be a ground mechanism and legal procedure to handle it. This is a one-sided thing. No one is crossing the border to capture your country; those who are being killed by shooting are just couriers. This is callousness. This has to stop.”
The Border Security Force (BSF) of India has accused Bangladeshi smugglers and infiltrators of crossing the border and attacking Indian forces when confronted. The BSF has raised these issues with its Bangladesh counterpart, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), on several occasions. The border between India and Bangladesh includes extensive stretches in West Bengal (2,217 kilometres), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Assam (262 km), and Mizoram (318 km).
Image source: PTI
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