Bangladesh, India may finally reach an agreement on Teesta
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to visit New Dehli in September. Before her visit to the neighbouring nation, Bangladesh and India are expected to reach an agreement regarding the Teesta river water.
The Joint Rivers Commission is scheduled to hold a meeting in the last week of August in Dehli before the Prime Minister's visit, reports United News of India.
On Thursday, an inter-ministerial meeting was held in Dhaka during which the Prime Minister's Office, Foreign Ministry, Water Resources, and other related departments were present. Unresolved bilateral issues were also discussed during the meeting.
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Bangladesh and India share 54 rivers in total. However, the Ganges water is the only one with a signed agreement on distribution. This agreement is set to expire in 2026.
Due to this, the agreement and distribution of the Teesta river will take precedence.
Rivers such as Feni, Muhuri, Dharla, Dudhkumar, Manu, Khoai, and Gomti will also be discussed during the JRC meeting.
The Teesta agreement draft, finalized by 2011, could not be signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh due to the objection from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to visit India on 6 September. Her last visit to India was in 2019.
