India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has assured Bihar that the state’s concerns over the Farakka Barrage and water allocation will be considered when India’s water-sharing treaty with Bangladesh comes up for renewal. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary disclosed this on Saturday.
He said the renewal process for the Bangladesh-India water-sharing treaty is expected to begin later this year. At that time, he said, Bihar’s long-standing concerns and demands will be raised, and the central government has responded positively to that.
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Janata Dal (United), or JD-U, MP Sanjay Kumar Jha took part in a meeting with Jaishankar in New Delhi on Friday. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and senior officials from the foreign affairs, water resources (Jal Shakti) and finance ministries also attended the meeting, which was organized at the chief minister’s initiative. The meeting discussed various issues related to Bihar’s water resources, irrigation and flood management.
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary alleged that Bihar’s interests were not adequately considered nearly three decades ago, when the Bangladesh-India water-sharing treaty was signed. He said most of the water reaching the Farakka Barrage comes from Bihar’s catchment area, but that Bihar has not received its fair share for drinking water, irrigation and industrial use.
He called for Bihar’s interests to be given priority when the treaty is renewed. According to the report, Friday’s meeting also gave serious consideration to a proposal to build high-level reservoirs and dams on Nepal’s Kosi and other rivers. A Joint Project Office (JPO) was established in Biratnagar, Nepal, in 2004, with the aim of advancing preparatory work on proposed reservoir projects in Nepal.
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said the meeting also discussed Bihar’s representation at the JPO. He claimed Jaishankar assured him Bihar would be given representation there, and that the necessary steps would be taken. The office currently includes representatives from India’s central government and from Nepal. The meeting also discussed Bihar’s stalled irrigation and flood-control projects, according to the report.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report