Indian media highlight Teesta issue

Indian media covering Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s two-day visit to New Delhi and her talks with the Indian PM Narendra Modi highlighted the Teesta issue, a matter of concern for Bangladesh that has been outstanding for a long time.

Today, all the major English and vernacular Indian dailies came up with front-page coverage of the bilateral meeting between PM Hasina and PM Modi. 

Most of the newspapers had front-page photos of the smiling premiers.

The Hindustan Times headlined “India offers to take up Teesta project in B’desh”, while the Times of India “NEW DELHI TO SEND TEAM FOR TEESTA PROJECT: India, B’desh Ink 10 MOUs; Defence Ties Get a Boost.”

The Economic Times carried the same story as the Times of India and the same headline, while the Sunday Times headline was “Eye on China, India to help B’desh conserve Teesta river.”

Among the Bangla dailies, Anandabazar Patrika headlined “Delhi team to go to conserve Teesta waters” ((Teestar jol songrokkhone jabe Delhir dol) while Ei Desh “India to send technical team to Hasina’s country to conserve Teesta” (Teesta songrokkhone Hasinar deshe technical team pathabe Bharat).

Why Teesta is important

Bangladesh has been waiting for an agreement on Teesta for a decade. Neither the Congress-led UPA government nor the BJP-led NDA government could resolve the issue, especially regarding the West Bengal government’s position.

Following the one-to-one and official talks between PM Hasina and PM Modi, a key announcement was the visit of technical delegations to Bangladesh for a project on the conservation and management of the Teesta river inside Bangladesh.

Bangladesh officials and some optimistic experts described the announcement as a forward-looking decision if not a major breakthrough. Ice melts in that way, they said.

However, some other experts, while welcoming the decision to renew the Ganges water-sharing treaty with optimism, describe the lack of progress on the Teesta sharing and equitable distribution of six cross-border rivers as frustrating.

They also said the announcement of an Indian technical delegation visiting Bangladesh to review the “Teesta River comprehensive management and restoration project” proposed by China may intensify the conflict between Beijing and New Delhi.

Former ambassador Humayun Kabir said, “It is unclear what the Indian technical team will assess regarding the proposed project. We do not know if India intends to join the project or whether the Teesta water will be distributed within a specified period.”