Teesta water deal unlikely

Bangladesh and India is unlikely to ink any deal on Teesta water sharing during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Dhaka, expected to take place next month, the Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Vikram Doraiswami, said on Monday.
Enhancing friendship with Bangladesh is the cornerstone of the Indian foreign policy, he clarified.
Mr Doraiswami was responding to queries from the newsmen at the 'DCAB Talks', hosted by the Diplomatic Correspondents' Association of Bangladesh (DCAB).
On the Teesta deal, he said, "In India, the state has the ultimate say on the water-sharing issue. Despite maximum efforts by the federal government, the deal thus remains pending."
The envoy reiterated his country's commitment to inking the deal as soon. India believes in the fair sharing of waters of common rivers, he said.
He also pointed out that the data sharing of six other common rivers is ongoing and deals on water sharing of those rivers might be signed in near future. Mr Doraiswami also made an elaborate statement on the border-killing issue at the event.
Basically, economic factors caused the problem, he said, adding the poor people in the border belt are being engaged in smuggling by local criminal gangs, he explained.
The BSF (Border Security Force) personnel of India have been instructed not to kill people at the borders, but sometimes they have to shoot as the last resort to save themselves, he argued.
The envoy said these criminal elements often attack the BSF patrols when they were caught by the BSF.
Criminal activities can be stopped through increasing economic activity in the frontier areaa, he suggested.
On the issue of connectivity, Mr Doraiswami said if the flow of goods increases between the two countries, it will help boost their economies.
"To increase the flow of goods," he said, "we need to enhance the connectivity."
Both the countries are serious about promoting regional connectivity to boost trade, the envoy added.
On Bangladesh's trade scope with Nepal and Bhutan using Indian land, he said there is a provision in the BBIN framework to this effect.
In fact, India has offered this facility to Bangladesh, but some regulatory legal criteria should be finalised to avail these.
"If a Bangladeshi truck violates regulations, what should be the penalty or who will fix it? Such things should be sorted out before making Bangladeshi trucks' movement through India operational."
According to Mr Doraiswami, New Delhi does not feel that its ties with Dhaka get hurt due to a rise in China's engagement in Bangladesh.
He said both countries were able to overcome misgivings on lots of issues due to the commitment from the two top leaders.
Whoever comes to power in Delhi, he said, the policy towards Dhaka remains the same and that is to further enhance the excellent ties with Bangladesh.
A successful Bangladesh makes India proud and a developed Bangladesh is good for fundamental interests of India, Mr Doraiswami pointed out.
DCAB president Pantho Rahman moderated the discussion while secretary AKM Main Uddin delivered welcome address.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com