September 5, 2011
CM cancels Bangladesh trip
Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee who was to accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a two-day Bangladesh visit decided to abandon her trip on Sunday.
The decision was taken by the Chief Minister after going through the draft and final version of the `Teesta-water-sharing-agreement` to take place between the two countries. “I am not going“, said Ms. Banerjee who refused divulge details. The state government agreed on sharing 25,000 cusecs water but the final draft had 33,000 to 50,000 cusecs water.
Teesta River originates in North Sikkim and flows into Bengal. It enters Bangladesh through Jalpaiguri and meets Brahmaputra at Fulchori after flowing through Rangpur, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha covering 124 kilometers. The sharing of water will be determined on the level of water of Teesta at Gazaldoba, 25 km from Siliguri, where Teesta barrage is located.
As per the initial talks India will take 52% and Bangladesh 48% after preserving a certain amount in the Teesta barrage. Ms. Banerjee also raised objection to the Indo-Bangla water pact of 1996, which reduced flow of water to Farakka and Kolkata and Haldia ports.
