There will be water, no-one can stop it, says PM Hasina about Teesta deal

Bangladesh will remain patient about the Teesta river deal, thanks to assurance from Indian PM Narendra Modi, despite the uncertainty created by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Still image taken from live telecast by state broadcaster BTV. Still image taken from live telecast by state broadcaster BTV.

Still image taken from live telecast by state broadcaster BTV. Still image taken from live telecast by state broadcaster BTV.

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“I believe we’ll get water and no-one can stop it,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at a media briefing on her India visit held at Ganabhaban on Tuesday. “We are at the downstream.”

Mamata thwarted the deal six years ago when it was meant to be signed during a visit by the then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka.

She was called to a meeting by Modi during his talks with Hasina in New Delhi on Apr 8, but that failed to break the deadlock over the water-sharing treaty.

Modi later said he hoped the issues would be solved during the term of the current governments in Dhaka and Delhi.

Mamata then made a different proposal to Hasina on the sharing of waters of four smaller rivers.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi before the official talks in New Delhi.

“We have some smaller rivers. They’ve never been nurtured. They’re also connected to Bangladesh. If both our countries find them viable through studies, we can share some of those,” she told reporters.

Hasina, speaking at Ganabhaban, said: “Mamata Banerjee promised us there’ll be water when she came here (Dhaka). It’s not that she was against it now. She talked about merging a few nearby rivers to it to make sure the water is there. She proposed a feasibility study on that.”

“This means more delays. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi was very clear when he said the treaty will be signed. He said it will happen when he and I are still in power. So we can naturally be patient.”

"I did not return empty-handed. I got something. Sometimes I jokingly say that Didimoni (Mamata) didn’t let us return empty-handed - I wanted water, but got electricity."

“They have to release the water,” she said about Teesta. “They’ll have no option during rainy days, so they’ll have to. And we have to find methods to retain it.”   

She said 11 deals and 24 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed between the neighbouring countries during her tour between Apr 7 and Apr 10.

Pleasant surprise

She said she was surprised that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to receive her at the airport in New Delhi.

“When the plane landed, my officials told me that the prime minister was at the airport. I’ll have to say I was a little surprised.”

“And I said ‘what a pleasant surprise’.”

This was Hasina’s first tour to India during the tenure of Modi-led government. She reached New Delhi on Friday when Modi came to receive her at Palam air base breaking the Indian protocol.

She also stayed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan which again broke the tradition of selecting guests for the presidential palace.

Hasina says: "The trip is hugely satisfying. There's no frustration. There's nothing frustrating."