India likely to lift objection to Rahimpur Canal project in Sylhet

Delhi is likely to lift its objection to Bangladesh's canal project called 'Rahimpur Canal' to withdraw water from the Kushiyara River flowing down the northeastern Barak Valley to cultivate 5,000 acres of land in Sylhet in exchange of withdrawal of 1.82 cusec of water per second from Bangladesh's Feni River for  Tripura State.
"This issue is likely to be settled at the Joint River Commission's (JRC) meeting at the end of this (August) month ahead the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India on September 6 to 7," senior officials of the Ministry of Water Resources and Foreign Affairs said.
The JRC meeting was deferred several times for updating data on six common rivers which delayed
the exchange of data on rivers-the Muhuri, Monu, Dharla, Khowai, Gumti and Dudhkumar- which was last updated 34 years ago, the Foreign Ministry said.
The JRC was jointly formed by India and Bangladesh to resolve conflicts arising from the sharing of water of transboundary rivers.
 "Climate change is shrinking the availability of waters across the globe, Bangladesh will be the worst sufferer of this situation, however, we need to discuss the "water management" issue of the 54 rivers that we shared commonly,  "water sharing" with India separately will not yield any fruits for us," water resource expert and BRAC University Emirates  professor Dr Ainun Nishat told the Daily Observer on Wednesday.
"In 2011, both the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and India agreed to work over the 'basin wise river management' and formed different committees to oversee the issue, however since 1985 we are talking over the issue but did not see any significant progress in this regard, I'm in favor of "integrated water management," the emeritus professor said. Apart from the major agreement , sharing of data of river waters and better flood control planning are expected to feature in the upcoming meeting of the JRC that will meet in the last week of August ahead of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's September 6 to 7 India visit, the Foreign Ministry further said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Dhaka's plea to lift Delhi's objection on 'Rahimpur Canal' project has been discussed between the two countries in different phases for a long time. But the observations or objections raised by India have not been withdrawn.
"Now we have agreed in principle on a "speedy settlement" of the issue, an official said.
However, JRC will not discuss the Teesta water issue, Delhi wants to take more time on the Teesta water sharing, which has been awaiting signing for nearly 11 years.
Meanwhile, Indian newspaper The Hindu said, "an agreement on the Kushiyara that flows from Assam into Bangladesh is part of one such agreement that may get "done" during the JRC. A diplomatic source also hinted at a "major agreement" involving the Ganga may also be taken up as there is a "strong urge" to achieve a big river agreement ahead of Prime Minister Hasina's visit, which may be her last trip to Delhi before Dhaka goes into election mode next year." India and Bangladesh have 54 common rivers. However, the two countries have only one relevant treaty signed in 1996 which oversees the sharing of water of the Ganges River.
The two countries first discussed the exchanging of water in 1985. Since then, the neighbours have discussed the issue of sharing water from the six rivers mentioned, but could not reach any consensus.