The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Water experts at a seminar yesterday underscored the need for a regional understanding among the South Asian countries to ensure equitable share of trans-boundary river water.

They also said that any treaty for sharing water of trans-boundary rivers must be signed by the countries through which the rivers flow.

The water experts were addressing a seminar on 'Trans-boundary Water Issues in South Asia' at the LGED auditorium in the city. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr ATM Shamsul Huda was present as chief guest. The Bangladesh Water Partnership (BWP) organised the meet.

Former Water Resources Minister Abdur Razzaque of Awami League emphasised the need for regional dialogue among the common river stakeholders and said Bangladesh would get equitable share of the trans-boundary river water, if the regional countries negotiate on the issue at the highest political level. "We need good understanding among the regional countries to solve the problem," Razzaque said and added, "India and Nepal have signed an agreement on the Ganges water, but they have not contacted Bangladesh in this regard."

LK Siddiqi, former Water Resources Minister of BNP said, "We have to be pragmatic and change our attitude to solve the problem of the trans-boundary river water."

"We could have utilised the common river water through the cooperation of the SAARC nations," Siddiqi added.

Dr ATM Shamsul Huda called upon the big political parties to ensure equitable share of common river water from neighbouring India.

"Our political parties do not agree on any national issue. If a party government signs a treaty, then another party tries to make the treaty ineffective," Dr Huda added.

Criticising political redtapism, CEC Huda said the four-year master plan on national water management could not be implement as the policymakers of the than government had failed to agree on the plan.

Former Foreign Minister of JP Anisul Islam Mahmud said, "We need to improve our political and negotiation skills to ensure water share of common rivers."

Tauhidul Anwar Khan presented keynote paper based on his book on 'Trans-boundary water issues in South Asia' while Quamrul Islam Siddique, president of BWP moderated the seminar.

Tauhid said, "Bangladesh, located within the flood plains of three great rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and Meghna, is facing a critical situation in the water sector. There are more than 230 rivers in Bangladesh, 57 of which are trans-boundary."

He added that 54 of those rivers are common with India and 3 are common with Myanmar.

In the absence of any certainty of flow through the rivers, Bangladesh has been compelled to depend heavily on the ground water supply for meeting various demand of water, he further said.

"So far, there has been water sharing agreements with India only on the Ganges. The water sharing issues of other common rivers are pending for decades," said Tauhid.

Prof M Moniruzzaman Miah, former Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, Farhad Mazhar and Sadeque Khan, columnists, Muhammad Zamir, Vice President of BWP, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Executive Director of BELA spoke at the seminar.