Dhaka asks Delhi about plan for diverting Teesta water
Bangladesh has sent a diplomatic note to India, seeking explanation regarding excavating of two new canals in West Bengal to divert water from the transboundary River Teesta, Foreign Affairs Secretary Masud Bin Momen has said.
"We have asked [India] for the information through a note verbale sent from the Foreign Affairs Ministry," he told reporters at the ministry on Sunday.
Asked whether any concern was raised in the note, regarding the plan for the water withdrawal from the River Teesta, he said, "This may have been planned by them a long time ago. But still nothing has happened".
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On Thursday, State Minister for Water Resources Zaheed Farooque said that the Joint River Commission had 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.
The West Bengal government has in principle decided to set up three hydropower projects in the 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.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said on Thursday that 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.
