June 25, 2024
NEW DELHI – West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said no discussion on sharing of the Teesta water and the Ganges should be held with Bangladesh without the involvement of her state.
In a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she also said, “It is not feasible to share Teesta water with Bangladesh because the water is required for irrigation and drinking for the people of northern part of West Bengal.
“Water flow in Teesta has gone down over the years and it is estimated that if any water is shared with Bangladesh, lakhs of people in North Bengal will get severely impacted due to inadequate availability of irrigation water,” the letter said.
“In addition, Teesta water is also needed to meet the drinking water requirement of the residents of North Bengal. It is, therefore, not feasible to share Teesta water with Bangladesh,” Mamata said in the letter.
Her letter comes days after prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi held talks in New Delhi, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
The Indian PM after the summit announced that a technical team would be sent to Bangladesh soon for the conservation and management of water of Teesta in Bangladesh and start discussions on the renewal of the 1996 Ganges water-sharing treaty which expires in 2026.