Dhaka: Amid indications that the Teesta
river water sharing pact is unlikely to be inked during Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh on Tuesday, Dhaka
on Monday said it was yet to hear from New Delhi on the issue.
"We have seen the reports in Indian media but we are yet
to get any confirmation from New Delhi...We will communicate
with the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka," Foreign Secretary
Mijarul Quayes told newsmen.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina?s foreign affairs
adviser Gawher Rizvi told PTI that "the report (on Teesta
river issue) is yet to be confirmed".
"I think there is no point to make any comment on the
issue at this moment," he said.
Earlier, Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told
newsmen in New Delhi that India would finalise the Teesta
River water sharing agreement with Bangladesh only after
consulting governments of the "states concerned which are
going to be affected by the deal".
"In our federal scheme of things, nothing is done or will
be done without consultations with the State Government. Any
agreement that we conclude will have to be acceptable to the
State Government...won't get into details on where we are
now," he said.
Mathai's comments came as West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee opted out of the delegation accompanying the
Indian Prime Minister to Dhaka, apparently unhappy over the
draft agreement over sharing of Teesta river waters.
Reports said Banerjee was concerned about certain
portions of the draft agreement as she did not "want the deal
to harm her state's interest in any way".
The deal on Teesta, which originates in Sikkim and flows
to Northern part of West Bengal before entering Bangladesh,
was a big-ticket item on the agenda of Prime Minister's
two-day visit but has now run into uncertainty following
Banerjee's reservations on inking the water-sharing pact.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, September 06, 2011, 00:40