New Delhi: As the two-day water talks
began here Thursday, Bangladesh today hoped to reach an interim
agreement on the vexed issue of Teesta river water sharing at
the meeting being held after a gap of five years while India
insisted on sorting out certain technical issues first.
"The expectation is high. We are here to grow the
relations between the two countries further," Bangladesh Water
Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen said.
He was asked whether Bangladesh was hopeful of
reaching an interim agreement on water sharing.
The ministerial-level Joint River Commission is
meeting after a gap of five years here for two days to discuss
the vexed Teesta water sharing issue.
Asked about India`s stand that certain technical
issues needed to be settled first, Sen said he would be able
to speak on the issue after meeting his Indian counterpart
Pawan Kumar Bansal.
Sources in the Water Resources Ministry said while
Bangladesh wants to have water sharing on 50-50 basis
available at Gazoldoba -- the only release point of Teesta
river water to Bangladesh-- India is yet to take a final call
on the issue as much will depend on West Bengal Government.
There are also differences between the two neighbours
on the methodology to be used to calculate availability of
water in various seasons in the river to reach an agreement on
water sharing.
Bangladesh Water Resources Secretary Sheikh Mohammad
Wahid-Uz Zaman has said his country expected to reach an
understanding at least for an interim deal ensuring equal
sharing of Teesta waters this time while the two countries
would be able to resolve water sharing issues related to all
common rivers one by one.
PTI
