India to face diplomatic pressure for signing Teesta deal: Asif

India will face diplomatic pressure on the basis of international water law, if necessary, so that it signs the Teesta water sharing agreement with Bangladesh, Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan said today.

"The interim government has stood firm in terms of foreign policy. The government will talk to India with its head held high in signing the Teesta Agreement to ensure a fair share of the Teesta river water," he said while speaking as a special guest at a public hearing on 'What to do about the Teesta', organised by the Rangpur district administration at the Teesta Rail Bridge area on the banks of the river Teesta in Kawnia upazila. 

Asif, also adviser to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, said Bangladesh has been moving around since a long with a draft to get a fair share of the Teesta water. 

"But in the past, the fascist government has only said, 'What we have given to India, India will remember that forever'. In fact, they only gave to India, but could not get anything," he said.

Due to their knee-jerk foreign policy, they only went to India and took pictures with the Indian prime minister, but did not have the courage to talk about Teesta. 

Asif, also the Youth and Sports adviser, said in the past, North Bengal was lagging behind in the development of the communication system. 

During the interim government, North Bengal will get special allocation, he said, adding that North Bengal will be included in all development projects. 

"I have seen a huge quantity of crops produced in North Bengal. There is huge potential for the agricultural industry in North Bengal. But, farmers don't get fair prices for lack of preservation facilities," he said.

He said the interim government is working on the agricultural industry for preservation of produced crops. Where and how cold storages can be set up, those issues and feasibilities are being investigated. So that farmers get a fair price for their crops, he added.

In addition, the local government will build modern and rich libraries in the erosion-prone riverine char areas of the upazilas of North Bengal where the literacy rate is low in between 43-47%. 

Asif Mahmud said he had come to Pirgachha in Rangpur earlier. The people of Pirgachha were demanding the construction of a connecting bridge from Pirgachha to Chilmari. 

"The process of constructing that bridge is underway and the construction work will be inaugurated very soon. If this 1,400-metre bridge is constructed, the communication system will be easy," he said.

Earlier, some 15 men and women from the Teesta char areas of Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Gaibandha districts, who came to the public hearing, expressed their sorrows and hardships, including the erosion of the Teesta. 

At this time, Adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, Climate Change, and Water Resources Syeda Rizwana Hasan was present at the public hearing as the chief guest. 

In her speech, Rizwana Hasan said the Teesta Master Plan, with the necessary changes, will be finalized by December this year. China had given a plan as per the agreement made on the Teesta Master Plan in 2016. 

When it was sent back to the Chinese government, the Chinese government said that the way the plan was arranged would not be permanent and sustainable. Now China has again asked Bangladesh to give them two years for it. 

"We have agreed to give them two years, adding two conditions. One condition is that the issues that will and will not be included in the master plan must be decided by talking to the people on the banks of the Teesta and getting their opinions," she said. 

The second condition is that it must be finalised by December. 

Rizwana Hasan said, "If we get informed a few hours before India opens the dam during floods, we can evacuate people and save lives and properties from loss in floods."

"Our ministry has been telling India about this repeatedly and will tell it again. It should be informed a few hours before the dam is opened," she said

Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Rabiul Faisal, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources AKM Tariqul Islam, Member-secretary of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee Akhtar Hossain, River Researcher Nazrul Islam Haqqani, Northern University Teacher Researcher Dr. Atiq Mujahid, Abu Sayeed Lyon, BNP leaders Emdadul Haque Bhorsa and Mominul Haque and other speakers.