‘Talpatti no longer exists’

South Talpatti, an island that was located south of Satkhira in the Bay of Bengal, no longer exists, but the part of the sea where it was located has fallen under India’s territory as a result of an international dispute resolution.

At a press conference on Tuesday where the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at the Netherlands on the India-Bangladesh maritime boundary dispute was announced, former foreign minister Dipu Moni said the island no longer exists.

“Although its location has fallen under Indian territory due to the verdict, a large area to the south of that is within our territory now,” she said.

West Bengal government after the cyclone in 1970 had found that an island had emerged at the mouth of the Haribhanga river. In 1974 the US released satellite data saying the island was of about 2,500 square kilometres.

Bangladesh claimed sovereignty over the island, calling it South Talpatti, and India too made a claim and named it New Moore.

In the early 1980s the conflict over the ownership grew more intense. In 1979 Bangladesh proposed a joint survey but in 1981 India sent armed forces and put a flag on the island.

An independent scientific body called the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) said in 1990 that the island was eroding. At the end of the ‘90s, the island disappeared back into the ocean.

The disputed island was located at 21°37′00″N and 89°08′30″E. According to the arbitration tribunal’s verdict, the maritime boundary between India and Bangladesh will begin at 21° 38′ 40.2″N, 89° 09′ 20.0″E. The boundary line will then continue through the point 21° 26′ 43.6″N, 89° 10′ 59.2″E to reach 21° 7′ 44.8″N, 89° 13′ 56.5″E.

From there it will go along a geodetic line with an initial azimuth of 177° 30´ 00˝ until it meets the boundary with Myanmar.

Dipu Moni was the agent for Bangladesh at the PCA for this arbitration.

In reply to a question she said, “We did not have an ideal map of Bangladesh. Apart from Awami League, no one ever fixed the boundaries of the sovereign state.”

“It may be asked why maps were drawn with that island shown near India after 1980,” she added.

Asked whether the PCA had given any decision about South Talpatti, Maritimes Affairs Unit Secretary Rear Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam said, “You know it was a sandbar landform. In 1970’s cyclone it emerged from the sea, and in 1985’s cyclone it disappeared.”

“Since 1989 we have been sure that the island doesn’t exist anymore. India has also said, New Moore is no more.”