India and Bangladesh - expert interview

Dr Nishat, Bangladesh’s top-ranking expert on water management, was a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and country director of IUCN. He has touched on a number of issues in an interview with Prothom Alo

Dr Ainun Nishat is presently Professor Emeritus at Brac University’s Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research. He was previously vice-chancellor of the same university. He is also involved with several climate change and environmental research projects. Dr Nishat, Bangladesh’s top-ranking expert on water management, was a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and country director of IUCN. He has touched on a number of issues in an interview with Prothom Alo.

Prothom Alo: On one hand India is reassuring Bangladesh that it will not be harmed by the river-linking project, on the other hand it is going ahead with the project unilaterally. Bangldesh feels that the river-liking project will be even more devastating that the Farakka barrage.
Ainun Nishat: India’s explanation for its river-linking project is that it has vast tracts of agricultural land in the north, but there is a scarcity of water. The Indians want to take the surplus water from the northeast to north India. India’s internal political forces are strongly behind this. They plan to make a reservoir for Ganges water and channel it to Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and even to Gujarat.

Work has already begun on certain components of the project within India. The Ken and Betwa river-linking is complete. But the large-scale work will be building a reservoir in Nepal. If they want to take water to West Bengal by changing the course of the river Brahmaputra, they will have to dig canals within Bangladesh, or else they will have to pump the water to a great height. They will channel water from the rivers Manosh and Sankosh. These are river above Brahmaputra and are in Bhutan. During dry times, these rivers have little water, but swell during the monsoons. They plan on a reservoir in the high Himalayas, making tunnels in the mountains to channel the water to West Bengal.

Prothom Alo: Brahmaputra is the only river between India and Bangladesh that has no dams. This river is vital to Bangladesh for the life of its water bodies, the flow of silt, the climate and agriculture. What effect would channeling water from this river have on Bangladesh?

Dr Ainun Nishat: According to international norms, it is not fair to drain water from one basin to another, until and unless the the water requirements of the main basin is met. So this is a matter of concern. There are two independent countries in the Brahmaputra basin, Bhutan and Bangladesh. So India can take up such a plan only with an understanding with Bhutan and Bangladesh. If that is so, India then can only take its share of the water without harming Bangladesh’s interests.

Prothom Alo: The Teesta water deal remains pending, affecting crores of people in Bangladesh who are dependent on agriculture. What is Bangladesh to do?

Dr Ainun Nishat: The Teesta basin is in a bad shape. There were floods recently and may be floods again. If we could hold the excess water of Teesta in the rainy reason and then release it during the dry season, then we could prevent floods and river erosion in the monsoons and the scarcity of water during the dry season. To do this there is no alternative but to build a reservoir upon Teesta. This was Bangladesh’s proposal.

Prothom Alo: Will the MOU concerning water management of the basin signed during Manmohan Singh’s Bangladesh visit in 2011, be carried on by the Narendra Modi government?

Dr Ainun Nishat: Bangladesh has always spoken of river basin management. India is resolving its internal water conflicts by carrying out such river basin management among its states. This is a global norm concerning international rivers. So Bangladesh is stand is that reservoir must be built upstream of Ganges and Brahmaputra. Nepal is the third country, but India’s foreign policy has been bilateral management and so would not discuss Bangladesh’s issue with Nepal. We maintained that Brahmaputra must be dealt with as Brahmaputra, not seen the same as Ganges. But this changed in 2011. The second clause of the long-term friendship treaty maintains that the two countries will have river-based and basin-based management. Note this, India would always view Teesta as a tributary of Ganges. But Teesta’s management must be separate.

Prothom Alo: How can the lack of trust between the two countries be lessened?

Dr Ainun Nishat: Our problem is that we are not able to trust India. Secondly, we lack preparation. We do not have the required studies. There are anti-Indian quarters within the country. Thirdly, there is the institutional infrastructural problem. The water resources ministry follows old ways, lacks technical expertise. The water resources ministry should take responsibility of the basin management. The foreign ministry will take it forward and the power ministry will utilise it. Electricity is a by-product of water management.

Prothom Alo: Bangladesh has completed the Tipaimukh study, but not jointly with India. India’s study report on Teesta has also not bee released. Neither has India responded to the CGS and IWM studies done for Bangladesh.

Dr Ainun Nishat: As far as I know, India has given the data concerning Tipaimukh, but Bangldesh hasn’t prepared a response as yet. India’s water resources ministry is trying to make changes in the river-linking project. Even then, it will be absolutely wrong if India tries to unilaterally channel water away from upstream of the rivers Manosh and Sankosh without consulting Bangladesh. If infrastructure is built through cooperation with Bangladesh, then the rainy reason and dry season problems can be resolved. The basin can be developed. The agreement concerning Teesta needs to address the problem of all seasons. A reservoir must be built upstream. The politicians of the two countries must give the directives. The technical planning will be carried out accordingly.

Source: Prothom Alo

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