India Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday after a bilateral meeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that India is sending a technical team soon to Bangladesh for the proposed Teesta River conservation and management project.
"For the conservation and management of Teesta River in Bangladesh, a technical team will visit Bangladesh soon," Narendra Modi said.
Teesta River is Bangladeshs lifeblood. As the countrys fourth largest river and the primary source of water for its northern regions, its crucial for irrigation, supporting millions of citizens and a significant portion of agricultural production, unfortunately, India is withdrawing the water as per its requirement which made the northern part barren.
Bangladesh receives only a fraction of the 1,200-1,500 cubic feet per second of water it needs and much less compared to the perceived ideal 5,000 cusecs, with levels dropping even below 200-300 cusecs at times.
In 2022, Bangladesh began working with China to build a multipurpose barrage and dredge and embank portions of the river to form a single manageable channel where the water level would be much higher.
Bangladesh also sought $725 million from China for the $980 million project to ensure better water preservation on the Teesta River. China has already completed a survey and is awaiting Bangladeshs response to its previous project proposal.
The Chinese ambassador in Dhaka recently visited the Foreign Ministry and said his country awaited the end of Bangladeshs election (which took place on January 7 this year and reinstalled the Awami League-led government) to continue talks on the development project.
For the last one decade, Bangladesh made the plan to conserve Teesta as India could not sign a water-sharing deal due to the opposition of the West Bengal government.
After the election, China requested that Bangladesh revise its loan application and submit a new implementation plan if the government still deemed the project essential, to which Dhaka agreed in principle.
Later China showed interest to fund it as the project requires about $1 billion.
Meanwhile, the Indian Foreign Secretary recently visited Dhaka and showed its interest to fund the project.
Indias apprehension stems from the projects location near the Siliguri Corridor, a strategically important strip of land connecting Indias northeast to the mainland. Nicknamed the "Chickens Neck," this corridor holds immense geopolitical significance. India fears Chinas involvement in the Teesta project could be a veiled attempt to establish a foothold near this sensitive region.
China is already Bangladeshs largest economic partner. Under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing has already committed a massive $17.5 billion in grants and loans to the country.
"Chinas generosity isn purely altruistic," a senior official of the Foreign Ministry has said.
Two months back, a technical team from China visited Bangladesh and discussed the Teesta conservation issue.
A technical team will soon visit Bangladesh to discuss river conservation and management. Ahead of Prime minister Sheikh Hasinas proposed visit to China, the team initially did their tasks, now India is saying they are eager to do it.
Modi said Bangladesh is Indias largest development partner, and they attach the highest priority to their relations with Bangladesh.
He reiterated Indias commitment to realising Bangabandhus vision of a stable, prosperous and progressive Bangladesh.
"I congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for leading "Sonar Bangla".
Modi said they have prepared a futuristic vision for cooperation in new areas.
Munshi Faiz Ahmed, a former Bangladesh ambassador to China, has criticized Bangladeshs approach to the Chinese proposal, in a recent dialogue at Jatiya Press Club.
Ahmed believes Bangladesh readily acknowledged Chinas offer when it could have taken a more neutral stance.
This, he says, suggests Bangladesh is favouring China in implementing the Teesta project.
China is already Bangladeshs largest economic partner. Under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing has already committed a massive $17.5 billion in grants and loans to the country.
"By fostering economic ties and supporting Bangladeshs development goals, China aims to build goodwill and secure a stronger foothold in the region," he said.
"And this economic dependency of Bangladesh could give China leverage in the ongoing rivalry with India for regional influence," the retired diplomat opined.
Former Bangladeshi foreign secretary Md Touhid Hossain said Bangladesh has little choice but to consider Chinas involvement in the Teesta Project in the current situation.
"I think it will be wiser for Bangladesh to go ahead with the Teesta project with Chinas help," he said.
Meanwhile, Norendra Modi has announced that both countries will also take initiative for technical-level talks on the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty as it expires in 2026.
India also came up with their interest and it was expected that an announcement would come following the meeting of the two leaders.
Both leaders endorsed a vision statement for the peace and prosperity of the two nations.
"We have kept connectivity, commerce and collaboration as our focus. In the last 10 years, we have restored the connectivity that existed before 1965. We will now focus on digital and energy connectivity even more," Modi said.
"This will speed up the economies of both countries. Both sides are ready to initiate talks on CEPA to take our economic ties to new heights...54 rivers connect between India and Bangladesh, in which Bangladesh is at a disadvantage. This sounds to me more like Bangladesh wants to use China against India, instead of China using Bangladesh against India.
