India to dredge river in Bangladesh

DHAKA - Beginning next month, India will dredge Ichhamati river in Bangladesh and the south Asian neighbours will for the first time cooperate to protect the banks of the rivers they share.

Dredging of 300-plus rivers has been largely ignored in Bangladesh, media reports here have said. This has resulted in heavy silting and reduced water flow.

A recent report by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority has concluded that over 2,600 km of riverbed have been lost due to silting, affecting navigation.

The decision to begin dredging was taken at the India-Bangladesh Joint River Commission’s secretary-level talks here Tuesday ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s New Delhi visit next week for summit level talks.

The talks centred on the sharing of the waters of Teesta river, one of the major river systems that the two neighbours share.

The officials said that they had narrowed down their differences but could not reach a consensus.

Bangladeshi officials said that a deal might be finalised during the prime minister’s upcoming visit to India, The Daily Star said Wednesday.

At a joint press briefing, delegations of the two countries said they had come to an agreement that 1.82 cusec of water may be withdrawn from the Feni river under a drinking water supply scheme after verification by a joint team.

The meeting acknowledged how the scarcity of water on the Teesta river causes sufferings to people on either side of the border during the lean season.

“We have narrowed the gap and agreed to continue discussions,” said U.N. Panjiar, Indian water resources secretary and chief of the Indian delegation.

He said it was a successful meeting where they have resolved some issues completely and some substantially.

Sheikh Wahid-uz-Zaman, head of the Bangladesh team, said: “Sharing the water of the Teesta is very important for Bangladesh. This meeting has built the confidence that the issue will be resolved.”