India-Bangladesh meet on river water sharing on Mar 16

New Delhi: Top officials of the water resources ministries of India and Bangladesh will meet here on Tuesday to discuss issues related to river water-sharing and flood forecast, sources said on Monday. The Indian delegation will be headed by Pankaj Kumar, secretary in the Jal Shakti Ministry. The Bangladesh side will be headed by senior secretary Kabir Bin Anwar, the sources added.

The meeting takes place ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh later this month. Sources said the two sides will discuss water sharing of Manu, Muhuri, Khowai, Gumti, Dudhkumar, and Dharla rivers. They added that discussions are also expected to take place on withdrawing water from the Feni river for the Sabroom town in Tripura. Further, talks are also expected on a possible Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for drawing water from the Surma river.

India and Bangladesh have a robust mechanism in place to address water issues at different levels. An Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) is functioning since 1972. It was established with a view to maintaining liaison in order to ensure the most effective joint effort in maximizing the benefits from common river systems.

This enables meetings at the ministerial, secretary, and technical experts level.