Teesta agreement not in sight: Kaji

He was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on 'Management of Ganges, Teesta, Meghna River and the rights of farmers and tribals over water' organized by the Workers Party of Bangladesh at the National Press Club on Saturday.

Kazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed said, "I do not see the possibility of a Teesta water sharing agreement." We all know about Teesta. Everything was fine. The contract was written. Then Mamata Banerjee said she does not agree. The agreement is no more. Once Mamata had said yes, Teesta would have become a treaty. The Teesta treaty did not. I don't think there is a possibility.

He said that before the visit of the then Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh to Dhaka in September 2011, the two sides had agreed on the Teesta water sharing agreement at a meeting of the two countries' water resources ministers. Though the much awaited Teesta water sharing agreement was supposed to be signed during Manmohan Singh's visit, it stalled due to opposition from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. I think it was fixed beforehand. The state will not, the central state wants to, the draft agreement has been brought. I don't think it's supposed to happen. I think it should have come earlier. Such dramas have happened before.

Khaliquzzaman said that after Modi's BJP government came to power in India, there were rumors about the Teesta deal but Mamata's position did not change. Despite repeated calls from Bangladesh for the deal, India has always said it is optimistic.

Calling for action on the rivers at this time, he said, "I think the current problem should be given priority over the long-term plan." We plan for five years. But I work with an annual plan. For this, the current problem has to be given importance. '