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Transit sinks in Teesta waters

Dhaka, Delhi shelve major deals, sign minor ones as Mamata's U-turn on river sharing changes course of talks

Rezaul Karim
Bangladesh and India have failed to sign agreements on transit and Teesta and Feni rivers, the most sought after takeaways from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh, striking a blow to their bilateral ties.
Manmohan began his two-day official visit yesterday as the first Indian prime minister to come to Bangladesh in more than a decade and raising high hopes both in Dhaka and New Delhi of making a new beginning.
He was accorded a red carpet reception at Shahjalal International Airport, greeted by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on a sunny autumn day
Manmohan's visit and his official talks with Hasina yesterday were overshadowed by New Delhi's lastmoment dramatic decision against signing the Teesta water-sharing treaty in the face of stiff opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee.
The gloom persisted even though the talks produced the signing of 10 Memorandums of Understanding and protocols covering land boundary to preservation of Sundarbans, and a framework agreement on cooperation for development.
Hours before Manmohan's arrival in Dhaka, Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes summoned Indian High Commissioner Rajeet Mitter to the foreign Office demanding an explanation why New Delhi backed out from an earlier commitment to sign the Teesta accord.
Quayes expressed Dhaka's displeasure over the Teesta debacle.
New Delhi reportedly agreed to share with Dhaka 50 percent of the Teesta waters in a draft treaty agreed by the two countries during Indian PM's National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon's whirlwind visit to Bangladesh last week.
Happy with the draft, Bangladesh was eagerly waiting for the deal to be signed as this was a key prize Hasina's government wanted most from Manmohan's visit. The Teesta dispute has rendered Bangladesh's multi-million taka Teesta irrigation project almost idle for decades.
It was West Bengal's newly-elected Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who torpedoed the Teesta deal saying it goes against her state's interests. After she exited from Manmohan's Dhaka entourage, the Indian government backed out from the deal dealing a blow to Hasina's hopes.
The Teesta failure blocked the hoped-for deal on sharing the Feni river waters and signing a "letter of exchange” containing Dhaka's consent to let India use Chittagong and Mongla ports to carry goods through Bangladesh territory.
In a statement after the talks, Manmohan asked not to overplay the water disputes.
"Our common rivers need not be sources of discord... We have decided to continue discussions to reach a mutually acceptable, fair and amicable arrangement for the sharing ofTeesta and Feni river waters," Manmohan said in a written statement.
In a separate media statement, Hasina said, "I am happy to announce that we have moved closer to resolving long pending issues of common concern. This has been done in a spirit of warmth and cordiality and understanding."
Both the leaders expressed satisfaction over India's decision to give duty-free access to 46 products from Bangladesh. Hasina was glad that India agreed to
provide 24-hour access to Tin Bigha corridor for the residents of Bangladesh enclaves ofDhagram and Angorpota.
They also pointed to the signing of the protocol to the Land Boundary Agreement of1974.
“With this, both our countries have now demarcated the entire land boundary as well as resolved the status of enclaves and adversely possessed areas," Manmohan said.
He also said the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development signed by the two sides “is a contemporary blueprint designed to encompass on all forms and sectors of cooperation."
Earlier, Manmohan was givena 19-gun military salute at the airport, where he reviewed a parade and got introduced to ministers and high officials.
After the airport ceremony, the Indian premier placed floral wreath at the National Memorial at Savar. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Finance Minister AMA Muhith separately called on him at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel where he was staying.
Manmohan arrived at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) at 5:05pm and held Tete-a-Tete with Hasina that lasted about 45 minutes. Originally, it was scheduled for half an hour.
After the exclusive talks, the two prime ministers joined the official talks which began at 6:00pm at the International Conference Centre of the PMO and lasted less than half an hour.
Hasina led a 21-member delegation while her Indian counterpart led a 19-member team at the talks.
But the two premiers met again one-to-one first and then aided by their respective
foreign ministers for about half an hour, and all of a sudden an official of the foreign ministry took the file of "Protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement" which was not in the list.
Highly placed sources said the two leaders took the bold step to sign the agreement to
address the legacy issues — (i) undemarcated land boundary (ii) enclaves; and (iii) adverse possessions.
Officials said it was due to be signed by the home ministers, but Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and her Indian counterpart SM Krishna signedit.
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