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Delhi concedes to Dhaka's concern

Agrees to put river-link worries on meeting minutes

Reaz Ahmad in Dhaka with Pai j ab Bhattacharya in New Delhi
New Delhi has agreed to include Dhaka’s concern over India’s controversial river-link project in the minutes of the crucial waler talks in the face of unrelenting pressure from Bangladesh.
At a joint press conference after
the end of the two-day talks that rolled into early hours of today, Water Resources Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed and his Indian counterpart Arjun Charan Sethi announced the agreement reached huursafter the talks hit the rocks.
The disagreement surfaced between Bangladesh and India, as Dhaka demanded inclusion of the
river-link project on the main agenda in the next joint Rivers Commission (JRC) meeting and in the minutes of the latest talks, which New Delhi opposed.
India also agreed to inform Bangladesh beforehand about the diversion of water flow of common rivers from northeastern India to water-deficient areas in the south-
west under the multibillion-dollar project that threatens to deprive Bangla desh of its fai r share ofwa ter.
India's bid to bypass the agreed Indo-Bangla demarcation of a two-kilomeire stretch along the Muhuri river had also become a point of difference. Bangladesh is learnt to have given its view against the sharing arrangements on the Teesta and six other common rivers in the fashion of the Ganges water share treaty the two countries struck in 1996.
But Delhi said it was not possible to work out similar arrangements for the Teesta and other common rivers unless expert investigations were carried out into water flow and availability in different seasons on both sides.
There has been no official announcement to the press on the talks' outcome until 10:00pm. But various sources said India argued in its disagreement with Bangladesh that the $200 billion waterworks were at a conceptual level.
Delhi told Dhaka its protests over the river interlink proposal were premature.
"The project is at a very initial stage. We have not yet discussed it with different states and the prefeasibility study has not even been completed so there should not be any apprehension on part of Bangladesh," Sethi told reporters after his meeting with Hafizuddin on Monday.
A taskforce headed by former Indian power minister Suresh Prabhu will examine the project in detail, Sethi said, adding: "When that stage comes, we will certainly look into how much interests are affected within and outside India."
Hafizuddin led a 12-member delegation to the 35th JRC meeting, including Mohammed Sayef Uddin, water resources secretary, and Mukhlesuzzaman, director general of Bangladesh Water Development Board.
The Indian team led by Sethi includes Water Resources Secretary AK Goswami and Chairman of Central Water Commission R Jeyaseelan.
Officials in Dhaka say the plan to
link 37 major rivers, including the Ganges and Brahmaputra and divert their flow from north-eastern India to water-deficient areas in the southwest, would deprive Bangladesh of its fair share of water.
The water resources ministry officials said Bangladesh depends on the two major rivers for 85 per cent of its dry season surface water.
In a recent interview with the Kolkata daily, The Statesman, Prabhu, heading the project taskforce, said, "The foreign ministry is handling some of the work. I will speak with Yashwant Sinha (external affairs minister) to discuss issues with neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh."
But officials in Dhaka said since sending a 'note verbal' through diplomatic channel to Delhi on August 13, there has been no official response from India and nor did it officially inform Bangladesh about anything of the water project.
The water interlink project is the last straw to Bangladesh after the central Indian government also approved budget for the much-debated Tipaimukh Hydro Electric Multipurpose High Dam, proposed to be constructed at the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers in Manipur.
Experts fear water diversion from Barak for power generation will have a negative impact on waterflow pattern in the Surma and Kushiara in Sylhet, which ultimately carry water to the Meghna.
The Committee against Tipaimukh Dam in Manipur has already submitted a memorandum to the Indian prime minister, protesting construction of the dam, which they feared would submerge 275.5 square kilometres permanently.