Not to sign Teesta water Sharing-West Bengal farmers appealed to central government

Phansidewa (West Bengal), Sep.8 : Farmers of the Phansidewa block of West Bengal have appealed to the central government to not sign an agreement for the sharing of waters from two rivers- the Teesta and the Feni, with Bangladesh.
Farmers said that if water is passed onto Bangladesh, then they would face a water crisis, leading to a loss in agricultural production.
These rivers originate from the Himalayas, flowing through India and Bangladesh and finally into the Bay of Bengal.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was recently on a two-day official visit to Bangladesh along with an Indian delegation for cementing ties with that nation.
On his visit, Singh signed a series of agreements, although they failed to resolve their main disputes over transit rights for India and the sharing of waters of certain trans-national rivers.
"Right now, we feel that the water of the Teesta should not be given to Bangladesh on a greater basis, as has been the news in the Prime Minister''s (Manmohan Singh) recent visit to Bangladesh. The amount of water, which we need here, is already not enough, and on top of that if more water is passed to Bangladesh, then we will incur more loss," said Bidhan Das, a farmer.
Farmers expressed their discontent with the present proposals of water sharing between the two countries and urged the government to come out with a proposal in which nobody incurs a loss.
"The fact that 54 percent of the Teesta water would be given to Bangladesh and 46 percent would be given to India is not satisfactory. The 46 percent of water in our share is not enough. So, if 54 percent is given to them, then we won''t be able to sustain in the 46 percent. It will become impossible for us to sustain in that case," said Abdul Samat, another farmer.
However, the agreement for sharing of the waters of the River Teesta and the River Feni was put off after West Bengal government refused to concur with the proposals.
Bangladesh and India signed a comprehensive framework agreement on bilateral cooperation, a protocol on land boundaries, memoranda of understanding on renewable energy and conservation of the Sunderbans mangroves.
An addendum was also signed to facilitate overland transit to Nepal so Bangladesh can transport goods to the land-locked Himalayan state using a small portion of Indian land.
India also agreed to allow duty-free access to 46 types of garments from Bangladesh to the Indian markets, with immediate effect, which Bangladeshi businessmen termed a long-awaited achievement.
Dhaka has contended that the deal may not be possible if India did not sign the pact on sharing of River Teesta and Feni.
The two countries have struggled to establish good ties ever since India helped its eastern neighbour to emerge as independent Bangladesh in 1971 from what was then East Pakistan.
Ties have also suffered over recent years because of Indian worries that Islamist militants were using Bangladesh as a base for anti-Indian crusades.
Bilateral trade has grown steadily but remains heavily in India''s favour, with the gap widening, causing concern in Bangladesh where business lobbies are asking for the removal of both tariff and non-tariff barriers.  

LF accuses Centre on Teesta pact

Kolkata, Sep 7 : Toeing the line of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who skipped the Delhi-Dhaka summit on Teesta river water sharing accord with Bangladesh, the Opposition Left Front today accused the Centre of going ahead with its proposal 'without consulting all the stakeholders'.
''It is a sensitive issue and the pact can be finalised only after consulting the respective stakeholders. The matter is one which cannot be solved by only one dialogue. But the Centre was ready with the proposal without prior consultations. How is that possible? '' Left Front Chairman Biman Basu said.
His comment, which came in reply to a question after a meeting of the Left Front, put a seal of endorsement on the stand taken by Ms Banerjee, the most bitter rival of the Communists, who recently stormed to power ending more than three decades of Left rule in the state.
Ms Banerjee refused to accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the crucial bilateral summit, which was supposed to mark a new beginning in the relations between India and Bangladesh, registering her 'protest' against the Centre going ahead with the final draft proposal for water sharing without consulting the state government.
Her objection led to the accord being put on hold, though the Prime Ministers of both countries discussed other issues of bilateral interest.
Originating from north Sikkim, the Teesta flows down through North Bengal before merging with the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh, and the issue of sharing a sizeable volume of its water with Bangladesh had been one of the key components to the measures to be taken for improving relations between the two countries.
Though representatives of the Centre had discussed the issue with Ms Banerjee for initial drafting in the run-up to the summit, the West Bengal Chief Minister decided to pull out of the agreement at the eleventh hour reportedly conveying her displeasure over the final drarft being prepared without her knowledge.
She reportedly said the agreement would lead North Bengal to go dry.
The Centre proposed in the final draft sharing of 33,000 cusecs of Teesta water with Bangladesh which was reportedly much higher than what the state government had agreed to part with.
The Chief Minister's move, which ostensibly projected herself as the 'saviour' of the state's interests, forced the UPA Government, of which her party is the second major partner, to postpone the Teesta agreement and place the obligations of coalition politics above international interest.
Ms Banerjee's move also seemingly disarmed the Left Front, her arch rival, which was left with nothing to criticise her and had to echo her on the issue.
Keeping in mind the sentiment of the people of West Bengal that Ms Banerjee sought to draw in her favour, Leader of the Opposition and CPI(M) Central Committee member Surjyakanta Mishra had also criticised the Centre.

--UNI