Ganga Water Sharing Treaty talks with Bangladesh irks West Bengal government
The GWST will expire in 2026. When PM Hasina visited India last month, it was decided that both the countries would work on modalities for the extension of the treaty
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed frustration with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not involving her government in discussions regarding the extension of the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
It is "unfortunate" that Modi discussed the extension of the Ganga Water Sharing Treaty with Sheikh Hasina but the West Bengal government was not involved in it, India's The Telegraph reports citing Mamata.
When India and Bangladesh had signed the treaty in 1996, it was decided that the Centre would carry out dredging in Farakka from where water is released to Bangladesh, she said while speaking at an administrative meeting in the Bengal secretariat Nabanna on Monday.
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"The decision was made to ensure we don't face a water shortage. However, no dredging has been carried out in the Ganga so far. Also, a package of ₹700 crore was announced then for anti-erosion measures and the rehabilitation of the affected people. So many homes were lost; so many people suffered. Not a penny has been provided so far," said the chief minister.
The GWST will expire in 2026. When PM Hasina visited India last month, it was decided that both the countries would work on modalities for the extension of the treaty.
Mamata took a dig at the Modi government for its insistence on sharing the waters of the Teesta, a major river in north Bengal, with the neighbouring country, said the report.
"Now, the central government is saying that it will share the waters of the Teesta with Bangladesh. The Teesta swells during monsoons but at other times, it doesn't have adequate water as 14 hydel power projects have come up on the river in Sikkim, because of which the water is withheld upstream. Why didn't the Centre act when these projects were coming up?" she asked, expressing her apprehension that the sharing of the Teesta's waters with Bangladesh could affect the water supply in north Bengal.
"People in north Bengal will not get drinking water," the chief minister added.
Mamata's assertion came on the day Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reached China on a four-day bilateral visit. The visit is significant as China has offered to develop infrastructure on the Teesta in Bangladesh to improve irrigation and ancillary facilities by using the river's water, said the Telegraph.
In the course of the meeting at Nabanna, Mamata expressed concerns over the damage caused to hilly highways, especially NH10 which connects Sikkim and Kalimpong with the rest of India. A stretch of NH10 has been closed for around eight days as there have been landslides and cave-ins at multiple locations.
The central government again came in her line of fire as Mamata Banerjee referred to an embankment which Bangladesh had built on the Atreyee river with the help of China.
"Because of the embankment which has been built with Chinese help, people in certain areas of South Dinajpur district (through which the river flows) are facing problems in getting drinking water. I have flagged the issue before the prime minister several times but nothing has been done so far," Mamata said.
