West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the Centre for not inviting her to be a part of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangaldeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. She raised objections to the talks on water sharing between the Centre and Bangladesh. Highlighting the close relationship between Kolkata and Dhaka, CM Banerjee said, “Such unilateral deliberations and discussions without consultation and the opinion of the state government are neither acceptable nor desirable. “In the recently held bilateral meeting between PM Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, the two leaders discussed the conservation and management of the River Teesta and the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty. Addressing the media after the meeting, PM Modi said that a technical team will soon visit Bangladesh to discuss “conservation and management of the Teesta River.”
According to the pact, India is set to build a large reservoir and related infrastructure to manage and conserve Teesta water. However, this has angered Mamata Banerjee, who for a long time has been opposing the water sharing pact, accusing the Farakka barrage of erosion, siltation, and floods in the state. “People of West Bengal will be the worst sufferers due to the impact of such agreements. I came to understand that Government of India is in the process of renewing the Indo Bangladesh Farakka Treaty (1996) which is to expire in 2026. It is a Treaty which delineates the principles of sharing of water between Bangladesh and India and as you are aware it has huge implications for the people of West Bengal for maintaining their livelihood and that the water which is diverted at the Farakka Barrage helps in maintaining the navigability of the Kolkata port,” she said in the letter to PM Modi.
