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Get Teesta deal beyond waters

Gout asked to adopt new strategy, include dams, hydro-power in negotiations

Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh should adopt a new strategy and go for negotiations with India on sharing not only the Teesta water but also the hydro-electricity generated at the dams built in the upstream of the river, Dr Akbar Ali Khan said yesterday.
The former adviser to a caretaker government however said in case of such a policy, Dhaka will have to share construction cost of the dams.
Akbar Ali came up with this view at a discussion on "Teesta Water Sharing Agreement and its Economic Impact"
organised by the BRAC University Business Club.
Terming the existing Teesta negotiation policy a "wrong" one, Akbar Ali said now that both Dhaka and Delhi have agreed on basin-wise management of the Teesta river, it has created the opportunity for negotiations also on the dams built on it.
Speaking at the discussion, eminent water resources expert and Vice Chancellor of the university Dr Ainun Nishat urged the government to think about a permanent treaty on the Teesta water sharing.
He noted that the final draft agreement on sharing the river water is for an interim period.
Dr Nishat, who was in the government negotiation team on the Teesta in 1989, said the Teesta issue has become a political one, and it needs political commitment of both the governments to solve it.
He emphasised conducting a proper scientific study on the flow of the Teesta, and said the flood management issue should come up in the ongoing negotiation process.
Both the speakers said while negotiating water sharing of an international river, the countries concerned have to take into account a "third party"— the river itself — which also needs water for its own survival. So, the negotiators should keep adequate water for the river itself.
Akbar Ali said, "I will not be happy even if Bangladesh gets more water than India but the environmental aspect of the Teesta is not taken care of in the negotiations." The river has to be kept alive for the survival of Bangladesh, he added.
Air Commodore (Rtd) Ishfaq Elahi Choudhury, registrar of BRAC University, asked the students to know more about the rivers in the country.
He said rivers and waterways have not received due priority under successive governments. "The present shipping minister seems busier dealing with driving licence of bus and truck drivers than maintaining navigability of the waterways," he added.