And quiet flows the Teesta

Arindam Sarkar

Not before the 2016 Assembly elections in Bengal but ahead of the 2018 of the parliamentary polls in Bangladesh, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to give her nod to the Indo-Bangla Teesta Water Sharing Treaty – being pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – provided Bengal’s share of water is not compromised.

In her talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her two visits to Dhaka and during her confabulations with Narendra Modi, Mamata conveyed that it was not possible to have the water pact before the impending Assembly polls and that realistic riverine data should be taken into consideration before deciding how much Teesta water should be shared with Bangladesh.

As advised by river and ecological experts, Mamata believes unless the water sharing treaty is based on realistic data of water volume in Teesta, the river will not fulfill the unrealistic irrigation command area in either Bengal or Bangladesh. And North Bengal would suffer significantly.

“According to international convention, India cannot stop water from flowing into Bangladesh. What is important is how much Teesta water can be shared by Bengal and Bangladesh. The percentage is negotiable,” said river expert Professor Kalyan Rudra.

The Central Water Commission has concluded that Teesta, which originates in Sikkim and flows 72 km downstream in the Jalpaiguri district of North Bengal from the Gajaldoba Barrage, would irrigate 9.22 lakh hectares of land in Bengal and seven-lakh hectares in Rangpur district of Bangladesh.

The Central Water Commission has said that in the first phase Teesta would irrigate 3.6 lakh hectares of land. But given the present volume of water, Teesta irrigates only 40,000 hectres of land in Bengal.

“The whole concept is unrealistic. What’s more, once the 23 hydel power projects start operating on Teesta, the flow of water would further reduce and affect irrigation in the downstream. Plus, the river biodiversity, water table and its ecological flow would go for a toss,” said a river expert.

Experts have told the CM that before taking any decision on sharing Teesta with Bangladesh, a detailed real-time data of river’s ecological flow, a study of the river’s sustainability, engineering and its environmental impact should be prepared.

There is not much volume of water in Teesta during the lean season from November 1 to May 31. The water however is in abundance during the monsoon from June to September. But that will not serve the demand of Bangladesh. In downstream, Teesta enters Bangladesh from Burigram and from Duani Barrage flows 20 km to mix into River Brahmaputra.

During the Ganga-Farakka Water Sharing Treaty with Bangladesh in 1996, a proportionate water-sharing table of a 10 days cycle was prepared for the period of January 1 to May 31. And the preceding 40 years average was also taken into consideration.

Mamata wants a similar table to be prepared. On one hand is to study the availability of Teesta water throughout the year and the second important factor is to study the life of the people dependent on the river.

Around 15 lakh people in Jalpaiguri district live on the banks of the Teesta. Fall in the water table would affect them, the ecology of the river and irrigation. Many fish will go extinct and birds will stop migrating. People will be displaced and agriculture will be destroyed.

For Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, signing of the Teesta treaty would be a major boost before she faces elections in 2018. But with Bengal hesitant and Bangladesh desperate, Teesta is caught in the politics of water. In fact, Teesta needs a scientific approach on its utility and not a diplomatic coup to fathom its problems.