India has assured treaty on sharing Teesta water: Bangladesh minister

Shillong, July 15 (IANS) Bangladesh Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said on Friday that India has repeatedly assured of a treaty on sharing the Teesta river's water.

"We have been repeatedly assured that it will be resolved soon. We are hoping for a big day where both the governments would be able to ink an agreement on this," Alam told journalists here in Meghalaya on the sidelines of the two-day international Nadi (river) festival.

"We know there are lots of internal challenges in India and Bangladesh also have its own internal challenges, but in good and matured relationship, we must respect each other's challenges," he added.

The Bangladesh minister said that water of these two rivers - Teesta and Feni - that flows, would get a "fair share for the people to make livelihood out of these rivers, help in transportation of goods, boost people to people contact, and multiple advantages for India and Bangladesh".

Alam said the issue related to Teesta river is being discussed at various levels by officials of both the countries.

Signing of the water-sharing treaty on Teesta river between India and Bangladesh has been pending.

The Teesta deal was to be inked during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh in September 2011 but it was postponed at the eleventh hour due to objections by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

It was expected that the Teesta agreement would be inked during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh in June last year but it did not materialise though Banerjee had accompanied Modi.

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