BD looks at new Indian govt for Teesta deal

Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud on Friday said the government will initiate talks with the new Indian government after the general election in India to pave the way for signing the long-pending Teesta deal. “Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had been in Bangladesh to sign a treaty on equitable share of the Teesta River water, but unfortunately he couldn’t do that because of their internal problems,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an international conference in the capital. Mahmud said the government will launch a fresh move after India’s general election so that Bangladesh can get the equitable share of the Teesta water. “They (India) should give us the right share of water.” About the scarcity of water in Teesta river basin, he said the Boro acreage has rapidly declined in the basin this year for lack of water, according to UNB.