Joint River Commission assembly to determine on offers over Kushiyara and Ganga rivers
Joint River Commission assembly to determine on offers over Kushiyara and Ganga rivers
India and Bangladesh are more likely to ink no less than one main river settlement later this month, The Hindu has discovered. The planning for the settlement is being tightly guarded by officers on each side as water sharing between the 2 nations is taken into account to be a delicate topic given the truth that it usually takes political which means.
Apart from the main settlement(s) below dialogue, sharing of knowledge of river waters and higher flood management planning are anticipated to function within the upcoming assembly of the Joint River Commission (JRC) that may meet within the final week of August forward of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s September 6-7 India go to.
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In response to a question, The Hindu discovered that there’s a “strong possibility” that an settlement on the Kushiyara that flows from Assam into Bangladesh is a part of one such settlement that will get “done” in the course of the JRC. A diplomatic supply additionally hinted at a “major agreement” involving the Ganga might also be taken up as there’s a “strong urge” to attain an enormous river settlement forward of Prime Minister Hasina’s go to, which can be her final journey to Delhi earlier than Dhaka goes into election mode subsequent yr.
Teesta waters settlement
The Awami League authorities has been insistent on sealing the Teesta waters settlement, which has eluded settlement thus far. Ms. Hasina visited India throughout October 2019 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dhaka in March 2021 and through all high-level interactions, Bangladesh conveyed its urgency over the Teesta concern.
In that context, Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami had earlier referred to “reservations by the West Bengal government”, whereas explaining the delay within the Teesta waters settlement. However, it’s understood that India has agreed to supply Bangladesh a package deal on river waters-related offers that shall be thought of a major development when it comes to sharing of river assets with Dhaka.
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While political ties between Delhi and Kolkata have been a purpose that apparently stalled Teesta waters, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi final week and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on points which are related to her state. Ms. Banerjee’s go to, which got here within the backdrop of the tightly-guarded India-Bangladesh negotiation, has contributed to the hypothesis on river water sharing between India and Bangladesh.
Other rivers in focus
Convening the JRC has been a long-pending demand of Bangladesh because the ministerial-level assembly was final held in 2010. While a number of rivers-related developments have unfolded between the 2 sides within the meantime that have to be given a coherent policy-related form, the JRC is the appropriate platform for such initiatives.
It is known that the subsequent JRC will give attention to the “positive side” and take the negotiation past the Teesta and to “other big rivers” and intensify collaboration on the rivers like Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gomti, Dharla and Dudhkumar, the place India and Bangladesh have larger scope of collaboration. Trans-boundary rivers represent an vital element behind the current financial success of Bangladesh because it generates livelihood for tens of millions within the nation.
Bangladesh and India share 54 rivers and Dhaka has been eager on accessing extra knowledge from the Indian facet to plan higher fisheries and flood management methods. The Hindu bought the impression that extending the time restrict for sharing of flood control-related knowledge could also be on the desk in the course of the JRC to assist Bangladesh put together to take care of the devastating results of the annual floods.
Both sides are additionally anticipated to take up the Ganga Waters Treaty of 1996 that’s scheduled to be renewed in 2026. The treaty was signed by Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and PM Hasina in December 12, 1996 and was anticipated to be renewed after thirty years. Apart from these points, discount of river air pollution and elevated navigation are additionally on the agenda.
Source: www.thehindu.com