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Teesta talks drift to April meeting

Delhi turns down Dhaka demand for interim arrangement

STAR REPORT
Talks to share the Teesta water ended in failure as Bangladesh and India remained wide apart in their views at the end of a two-day secretary-level meeting in the city yesterday.
However, both sides will sit again in April in New Delhi to find a solution at least to Teesta water.
Delhi made it clear that a permanent water-sharing agreement for
Teesta, as Dhaka demands, is not possible without hydrological survey. It also turned down Dhaka's proposal for an interim arrangement until the study is done, according to meeting sources.
The two-day meeting of the joint committee of experts (JCE) of the Joint Rivers Commission also focused on water-sharing of six other common rivers - Dharla, Doodhkumar, Monu, Khowai, Gumti and Muhuri.
Delhi also pinned hydrological surveys to any water-sharing arrangement for these rivers.
"We have narrowed down our differences and hope to settle the matters in the next meeting. Water sharing is a very technical and complicated matter," Indian Water Secretary AK Goswami who led his country told newsmen after the talks.
"We will continue dialogues to
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reach an agreement," said Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury, water resources secretary and leader of Bangladesh side. "This is a continuous process involving a lot of technical details. We will cover more grounds in the next meeting."
About the Bangladesh proposal for interim water-sharing of Teesta river, Goswami said, "It is not a question of acceptance or rejection. It's a process of negotiation."
During the talks, Bangladesh experts reiterated that the watersharing issue should be resolved immediately based on a proposal they placed in August last.
At the committee's last meeting in New Delhi, Bangladesh proposed that the two countries should share Teesta water equally, leaving 30 per cent water for navigability.
However, according to meeting sources, the Indian delegation stood firm on its proposal for a scientific study before any deal.
Dhaka also pointed out that flow in the Ganges at Farakka point dropped substantially in the first 10 days of this month. It said India should take urgent steps to ensure flow to the level agreed in the 1996 water-sharing treaty.
Goswami told newsmen that droughts in 15 Indian states reduced flow and water levels in reservoirs of the drought-hit regions dipped to 59 per cent of last ten years' average.
"We are fully conscious of our obligation and responsibility under the Ganges water-sharing treaty," added Goswami.