India’s plan to withdraw water from Teesta: Dhaka cautiously observing the situation

Bangladesh is verifying the news of the fresh withdrawal of water from the Teesta River by West Bengal for its hydropower and irrigation project and cautiously observing the situation, said foreign ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin during the weekly briefing at the ministry on Thursday.

She also talked about the ongoing visit of Myanmar officials to Cox's Bazar for a preliminary interview of 450 Rohingyas listed for repatriation.

"Foreign ministry is in regular discussions with the Bangladesh Ministry of Water Resources and the Joint Rivers Commission after being informed about the matter regarding the canal digging," she added.

The West Bengal government has in principle decided to set up three hydropower projects in Darjeeling hills, risking further offence to Dhaka which has been waiting more than a decade for a treaty on the sharing of the Teesta's waters, reports The Telegraph on 13 March.

Two of the three planned Darjeeling projects are likely to reduce the volume of water in the Teesta that is available for irrigation, particularly during the December-April lean period when the demand for irrigation water goes up in Bangladesh, it added.

The Indian media reported the transfer of 1,000 acres of land to the irrigation ministry of West Bengal to excavate two new canals for withdrawing water from the Teesta and the Jaldhaka.

Seheli Sabrin said the life and livelihood of the people in a large part of Bangladesh depend on the Teesta. Therefore, Bangladesh has been trying for a water-sharing deal with India for many years.            

The UN-2023 Water Conference is going to be held at the UN headquarters in New York on 22-24 March. This is the first water conference organised by the UN since 1977. A high-level delegation led by the foreign minister and state minister for water resources is going to participate in it.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Water Resources Zaheed Farooque told the media on Thursday after a meeting at the foreign ministry that the Joint River Commission already prepared a letter that would be sent to India soon, asking about the reported plan of diverting water from the Teesta by the West Bengal government.

Myanmar will initially interview 450 Rohingya

During the briefing, Seheli Sabrin said, "Myanmar officials said they will interview around 450 people in the first phase. We hope that the Rohingyas can be voluntarily and sustainably repatriated under favourable conditions."

"We want to ensure the voluntary and safe sustainable repatriation of all Rohingyas to their home countries regardless of religious preference," she added.

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman told UNB that the delegation will verify the list of Rohingyas willing to return to Myanmar. Over 1,000 Rohingya could be taken back under family-based repatriation initially, including hundreds of Hindu Rohingyas.