“We have to resolve this issue according to international standards,” he said (Archive)
Dhaka:
Bangladesh's chief adviser Muhammad Yunus has said the interim government will seek ways with India to resolve differences over the long-pending Teesta water-sharing treaty as delaying it for years serves no purpose for either nation.
In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Muhammad Yunus said the issue of water sharing between the two countries should be resolved in accordance with international norms, stressing that lower riparian countries like Bangladesh have specific rights that they seek to uphold.
“There is no point in sitting on this issue (the distribution of water). If I knew how much water I would receive, even if I were unhappy and signed, it would be better. This issue has to be resolved,” he said.
Responding to a question on whether the interim government would push for resolving the issues over the Teesta water sharing treaty at the earliest, he said the new regime would try.
“Push is a very important word, I am not the one saying it. We will do it, but we have to sit together and work it out,” he told PTI.
India and Bangladesh were set to sign a deal to share water from the Teesta river during then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka in 2011, but West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to back it, citing water scarcity in her state.
“This is not a new issue but a very old one. We have discussed this issue on several occasions. The discussions started during the period of Pakistani rule. While we all wanted this treaty to happen, even the Indian government was ready for it. However, the West Bengal state government was not ready for it. We need to resolve it,” he said.
Muhammad Yunus reiterated that lower riparian countries like Bangladesh have specific rights that they seek to defend.
“We have to resolve this issue in accordance with international rules. The lower riparian countries have certain rights and we want them to be granted,” he said.
His comments come days after the caretaker government's advisor on water resources Syeda Rizwana Hasan told PTI that Dhaka would push for restarting dialogue on the Teesta water-sharing treaty with New Delhi and asserted that both countries should adhere to international principles on water sharing between upper and lower riparian countries.
Speaking about the flood situation in Bangladesh and reports from Dhaka blaming India for the floods, Muhammad Yunus said that until the treaty is signed, a humanitarian approach can be adopted to deal with such crises.
“When the High Commissioner (of India) came to meet me, I told him that we can work on better management and see how the situation can be controlled during floods. For there to be coordination between the two countries, we do not need any treaty. We can work together on this on humanitarian grounds and resolve it as this would alleviate the suffering of the masses. Such humanitarian measures would go a long way,” he said.
Flooding caused by monsoon rains in the Bangladesh River Delta and upstream regions of India has killed several people and stranded or affected nearly three million others in Bangladesh, posing a huge administrative challenge for the newly installed interim government in the midst of a political transition.
India has described as incorrect reports from Bangladesh that the current flooding situation in parts of the country has been caused by the opening of a dam on the Gumti river in Tripura.
Speaking on the controversial issue of border killings, Muhammad Yunus condemned it and said that killing is not a solution to address it.
India's Border Security Force (BSF) has accused Bangladeshi smugglers and infiltrators of crossing the border and attacking Indian forces whenever they are challenged.
Deaths sometimes occur along the Bangladesh-India border due to suspected infiltrators trying to cross into India illegally, cross-border firing and cattle smuggling.
Waiting for answer to load…