Bangladesh hopes Teesta accord will be signed soon

New Delhi, May 8 (PTI) Bangladesh today hoped that the interim agreement on water sharing of Teesta river will be signed "sooner rather than later" even as India allayed Dhaka's fears on India's river interlinking projects, saying nothing will be done to affect the interests of neighbours. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni met India's Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal here and the two sides discussed the Teesta water sharing agreement, river interlinking projects and the Tipaimukh project that India plans to build over the Barak river. "We talked about Teesta, we talked about Tipaimukh and interlinking of rivers. He (Bansal) gave an assurance again on interlinking project that nothing will be done on the Himalayan component so we need not worry about this," Moni told reporters after meeting the Water Resources Minister at his Parliament House office. To a poser on whether she sought a timeline to sign the Teesta treaty, Moni said, "We hope it can be done sooner rather than later." Bansal said Moni was told that the Indian government was in the process of formulating an internal consensus on Teesta treaty and was hopeful of achieving positive results. He told PTI that India allayed fears on river interlinking and said nothing will be done on the projects in the Himalayan component (which has 14 potential interlinking projects) that would affect the interests of the neighbours. Asked about reservations expressed by West Bengal state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Teesta treaty, Moni said it is an internal matter for India to work on. "In Bangladesh, we are waiting eagerly for this interim treaty to be signed." The expected signing of the treaty was cancelled during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's September visit to Bangladesh apparently due to opposition from Banerjee. Dhaka says the waters of Teesta are crucial for Bangladesh, especially during the lean period from December to March. Drastic fall in water flow of Teesta during the lean season, especially in February and March, seriously hampers irrigation in Bangladesh, it has maintained. On Tipaimukh project, Moni said a team of journalists from Bangladesh would come here and they will be taken to the project site and briefed about it. "We also talked about having the sub-group meet on Tipaimukh and next month we are expecting the 38th meeting of the Joint River Commission. The sub-group will report in that meeting," she said. India emphasises that the Tipaimukh dam would be a hydro-electric project with provision to control floods and would not involve diversion of water on account of irrigation. PTI