Ranjan Mathai meets Mamata, says talks positive

Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai Saturday met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to find a solution to contentious issues like the Teesta water sharing agreement with Bangladesh and said the talks were “positive and useful”.

“We discussed all issues relating to some of our neighbouring countries. The discussions were fruitful and useful,” Matahi told media persons after emerging from the one hour-plus meeting with the chief minister.

Asked specifically about the discussions on the Teesta deal, Mathai repeated his earlier statement. “We discussed all issues. It was useful and fruitful.”

The talks were held in the background of Banerjee’s recent letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which she protested against Bangladesh getting much more quantity of water than was specified in the Farakka Barrage water sharing treaty.

While the neighbouring nation is entitled to 35,000 cusecs of water, over 80,000 cusecs were flowing into that country after two sluice gates broke down at the barrage.

As a result, the water level of Bhagirathi river in India has gone down.

The deal for sharing of Teesta water which flows from north West Bengal to Bangladesh, could not be finalised during Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in September last year due to Banerjee’s opposition against the proposed pact giving a greater share to the neighbouring nation than earlier agreed upon by the central and state governments.

Banerjee also argued that she had not been shown the draft of the treaty.

The Banerjee government is reportedly also peeved over the enclave exchange agreement signed between the two nations arguing that the state would lose more land than it would get from Bangladesh.