Dhaka: Bangladesh on Thursday said it is awaiting its response to the diplomatic communication sent to India last week on the West Bengal government’s proposed projects on the Teesta river. The West Bengal government has decided to construct two new canals to divert the water course of Teesta river for irrigation in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. Bangladesh Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Seheli Sabrin told reporters, “We have not yet received any response to the verbal communication.” Our future course of action will be decided only after receiving a response from New Delhi.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Office said Dhaka will decide its future course of action to resolve the issue after receiving a response from New Delhi. Sabreen said Dhaka has been in talks with India for a long time to sign the much-awaited Teesta water-sharing treaty. Asked whether Dhaka raised the issue of Teesta river water sharing at the ongoing UN water conference in New York, Sabreen said Bangladesh mentioned its national policies on sustainable development at the conference. In Kolkata, West Bengal government’s Minister of State for Irrigation and Waterways Sabina Yasmin said the canals were mainly built to help agriculture in the surrounding areas and were part of an older project.
