THE Times of India – a leading national daily of India, has reported that the West Bengal state of the Indian Union is planning to incorporate more agricultural lands under the Teesta irrigation program. What is more alarming is that quoting the West Bengal irrigation minister, The Times of India reported that there is a possibility of even more withdrawal of water from Teesta. For Bangladesh this essentially means that more droughts are coming. According to the report, the augmented diversion of water from the river to feeder irrigation canals in the Indian part of North Bengal has reduced the flow of Teesta waters in Bangladesh to just 10% of its ‘historical flow’.But West Bengal state officials have arguments to ‘justify’ what seems unjust from a Bangladeshi perspective. According to them not enough water is flowing into the Teesta to meet India’s irrigation needs. West Bengal government has a plan of bringing in 1.5 lakh acres of farmland under irrigation that will be extended by the next year. As these projects need more and more water for irrigation, that is why the West Bengal regime is opposed to the Teesta Treaty which would require West Bengal to take much less water from Teesta, as argued by the West Bengal state minister for irrigation.However, according to international laws this sort of monopolising over shared river water by India is illegitimate. Even a member of the Indian delegation for negotiation with Bangladesh over Teesta water sharing anonymously conceded to The Times of India that as per international conventions, lower riparian states have the right to get an equitable share of river waters. In cases of the Teesta, Ganges, Brahmaputra and many other rivers flowing into Bangladesh from India, Bangladesh, according to international regulations should get equitable shares of which she is now receiving only 10%. The Teesta Treaty was drafted complying with international conventions and that is why Bangladesh was satisfied with it. Apparently, all sources imply that there is virtually no indication of a mitigation or settlement for Bangladesh getting her just share of water. Allegations have it that, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is the main obstacle in implementing the Teesta Treaty. Moreover, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has recently said that as this is the election year he would not take ‘any risk’ regarding Teesta. This is really unfortunate and unacceptable for Bangladesh by all means in general and in particular because Bangladesh has made unprecedented compromises and sacrifices of self-interest for India’s benefit. Strategic and security issues including combating separatists in the Seven Sister states of the Indian North East is one of the numerous issues that is in itself a very big price that Bangladesh has already paid without any visible reciprocity. In fact, this is not how any friendship or alliance works. India is at the monolithic receiving end of the relation and Bangladesh is paying all the costs. For a sustainable real alliance there has to have some mutual incentives and benefits. Bangladesh has unilaterally paid so many things and its now India’s turn to prove, if it may, that it is not a colonial transfer mechanism but a true bilateral one.
