What is the Teesta project and dispute?

On the Teesta water conservation and related SEZ project, the previous Sheikh Hasina government had announced that being a neighboring country, india has the right to this project and she would like india to implement this project. Now the interim government of bangladesh has also shown interest in the Teesta water sharing treaty with India. Syeda Rizwana Hasan, advisor on water resources matters in the interim government of bangladesh, said that her government wants to start talks with india on the Teesta water sharing treaty. In such a situation, let us tell you why there has been a dispute between the two countries on this for a long time and what is the Teesta water treaty, will there be any benefit from it?

What is the Teesta project?

The Teesta river originates from the Pauhunri mountain of the Eastern Himalayas, which is very close to Sikkim. Teesta is the largest river of Sikkim, which flows from there from North bengal to the south and reaches Bangladesh. It meets the Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh. The most important thing is that more than 300 kilometers of Teesta is in india, while 109 kilometers is in Bangladesh.

The Teesta River Project has been prepared on the basis of three objectives, first- to control floods, second- to stop erosion and to acquire land. When this project is completed, hundreds of acres of land located on its banks can be used for agriculture or industrialization for landless people. The problem is that bangladesh wants about 50 percent of the Teesta river, especially when there is a dry season and the flow of water in the river is very low. The water of the Teesta river is very important for irrigation, drinking water and fish farming in Bangladesh.

However, india had proposed a share of 37.5 percent for bangladesh, 42.5 percent for india, while the remaining 20 percent was for the plan to build canals. But, bangladesh argues that this will reduce the flow of the river in its area considerably.