Teesta deal being stuck for 11yrs is a matter of shame: Momen in India 

Foreign Affairs Bangladesh AK Abdul Momen has said that it is "unfortunate" that Bangladesh could not get the Teesta water-sharing deal through with India for 11 years. 

"We share 54 rivers with India. We are keen on sharing and working together on the joint management of all rivers. 

"Joint management is necessary for the wellbeing of people of both sides, entire basin area," he told Indian news channel NDTV on the sidelines of NADI 3 Asian Confluence River Conclave 2022 being held in the neighbouring country on Sunday.

"It's a shame, we were ready, they were ready, yet the deal is not done. 

"In future, there will be a big cry for water and we have to prepare for it," he added.

River Teesta originates in the Teesta Kangse glacier and flows through Sikkim and West Bengal 

Back in 2011, India agreed to share 37.5% of Teesta waters while retaining 42.5% of the waters during the lean season between December and March. 

However, the deal never went through due to opposition from West Bengal (WB) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Besides, the constant building of dams along the Teesta in Sikkim has resulted in lean seasonal flow draining into Bangladesh.

Momen said, "Assam, Bangladesh faced floods this year at the same time, we need to collaborate more with technology for water discharge, jointly develop early flood warning systems, joint management of river is win-win for both country."

Responding to quarries on heavy Chinese build-up on Yarlung Tsangpo –  which becomes the Brahmaputra in India and Jamuna in Bangladesh – Momen lamented that the "issues" of the "lower riparian state" is overlooked.

"In the Brahmaputra basin, only 3% is in China, in India only 6% people are affected by the river, but we are the lower riparian state with 23% affected people. 

One country alone must not develop infra on this transboundary river. We should look at the residents of the Brahmaputra basin together, whether it's the Chinese development or India or Bangladesh. We all have to think about the impact on the entire basin and its people," added Dr Momen.

There is a lot of media buzz that Bangladesh is discussing an almost $1 billion loan from China for a comprehensive management and restoration project on River Teesta. 

The project is aimed at managing the river basin efficiently, controlling floods, and tackling the water crisis in summers.

Momen said, "We don't have a formal proposal from China on Teesta as yet, the one that China was proposing was initially a French project, designed by French engineers in 1989. 

"It was expensive, that time we could not manage funds. Now the Chinese are picking up one component of it, the Teesta project, but this I gather from media reports, they did not send us a proposal as of now." 

"We have to see how it goes because as of now India is not really not doing much to resolve the Teesta water-sharing issue, that's why they came up with a proposal, it's a lucrative proposal," Dr Momen said.

In September 2016, the Bangladesh Water Development Board entered into an MoU with Powerchina or the Power Construction Corporation of China to carry out a technical study to better manage the Teesta for the benefit of northern Bangladesh's greater Rangpur region.

"However, Teesta is an unresolved issue, so our people would naturally push the government to look into any fresh proposal, that may be the reason why the Chinese project on Teesta is so much talked about in media," the foreign minister said.

"We are very optimistic that India would agree to go forward with the deal, even West Bengal will agree, and we will achieve it," he said.