Sirshendu Panth | 03 Jun, 2015
While
the contentious Teesta river water sharing pact needs to be thrashed
out in the long term for the sake of better India-Bangladesh
bilateral relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's impending two-day
visit to Dhaka carries huge prospects of future cooperation,
especially in the backdrop of the long-awaited Land Boundary
Agreement (LBA) to be inked, experts in Kolkata have viewed.
With
the Teesta accord, which Bangladesh considers very important, not on
the agenda, diplomatic experts are banking on the land swap deal -
set to be concluded on June 6 on day one of Modi's visit - as a
"significant chapter" in India-Bangladesh relations, which
could in turn pave the way for fresh openings in bilateral ties.
The
historic LBA provides for transfer of 111 adversely held enclaves
with a total area of 17,160.63 acres to Bangladesh, while Dhaka is to
transfer 51 such enclaves with an area of 7,110.02 acres to India.
Over 51,000 people reside in these enclaves and are now virtually
stateless.
"The
Teesta accord is very important for Bangladesh. But the successful
completion of the LBA will improve prospects for fresh openings and
herald more close cooperation, and issues like the Teesta deal will
seem feasible," Om Prakash Mishra, professor of international
relations at Jadavpur University, told IANS.
Former
Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri said the LBA would
be the high point of the visit as it would help in taking bilateral
relations into an era of connectivity.
"Flagging
off the Shillong-Dhaka via Guwahati and Kolkata-Dhaka via Agartala
bus services, dialogue on a train service between Khulna and Kolkata
and negotiations for a coastal shipping agreement enabling smaller
vessels to go to Bangladesh are expected to strengthen connectivity
and help in the development of the country's north east," Sikri said.
"It
will help in connecting West Bengal, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan
into a sub-regional growth area," Sikri added.
The
visit is also expected to be a reaffirmation of the Bharatiya Janata
Party led National Democratic Alliance government's consistent stand
about the primacy it attaches to the country's neighbourhood in its
foreign policy. Bangladesh is the fourth neighbouring nation - and
significantly, the first Muslim majority country - that Modi would
tour since becoming prime minister last May.
But
despite the LBA success, it is the stalled Teesta deal that is
getting negative attention ahead of Modi's visit.
The
perception in diplomatic circles is that while the West Bengal
government has been kept on board on consultations regarding sharing
of the Teesta waters, which runs through lower riparian neighbour
Bangladesh, the necessary support from Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee's state has not been forthcoming.
This
prompted the decision not to keep the signing of the accord on the
agenda as "much distance is yet to be travelled" by both
sides on arriving at an agreement.
Banerjee
has already said she would be going to Bangladesh on June 5, a day
before Modi reaches Dhaka, and returning the next day after signing
of the LBA. "It is not on the agenda," the chief minister
said on Monday when asked about talks on the Teesta deal.
Unlike
the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance government, which had
seemingly burnt its fingers on the deal by not keeping Banerjee
abreast of all developments, the NDA regime is unwilling to act
unilaterally by keeping the stubborn and egoist leader of the border
state in the dark. In September 2011, Banerjee had embarrassed then
Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh by pulling out of his delegation
to Bangladesh over the water sharing agreement, forcing India to drop
it from the agenda.
Banerjee's
strong opposition stemmed from fears that the treaty could spell
disaster for the northern part of her state by triggering an acute
shortage of irrigation water in the lean months from December to
April. The Teesta originates from Tso Lhamo Lake in North Sikkim,
flows for virtually the entire length of the Himalayan state, then
runs through Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal,
before merging with the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.
In
February, however, the ice seemed to be melting as Banerjee visited
Bangladesh and assured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that the Teesta
issue will be resolved in the foreseeable future. Modi discussed the
matter with her during his recent trip to West Bengal.
To
win Banerjee's support, the centre has also reportedly promised a
package for construction of reservoirs to store water for irrigation
in North Bengal in the dry season. But with the state scheduled to
hold the assembly polls next year, she is now in no mood to hand over
any emotive issue to the opposition Left Front to encash upon.
However,
Sikri did not consider the delay in the Teesta accord as a problem.
"Earlier, the LBA had its own constraints. But Modi succeeded in
taking all stakeholders, including Mamata Banerjee, on board.
"May
be he can repeat the success with regard to Teesta. May be within a
year we will be ready with the pact which can be signed when Sheikh
Hasina comes visiting," Sikri said.