New Delhi: This is the first visit of a head of state to India after the formation of the Modi government for the third time in the country. During her visit, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will meet PM Narendra Modi as well as President Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Sheikh Hasina is coming to India for the second time within 15 days on the invitation of PM Modi. Earlier she was among the few leaders who were invited to the swearing-in of the new cabinet. Bangladesh is an important partner under India’s ‘Neighbor First’ policy.
The purpose of Sheikh Hasina’s visit is to further strengthen relations between the two countries. According to media reports, several agreements in various fields are expected to be signed during the talks between PM Modi and Sheikh Hasina.
Attempt to negotiate on Teesta water agreement
According to reports, both the leaders can also discuss the renewal of the Ganga water sharing treaty. India built the Farakka Dam on the Ganga River in 1975, over which Bangladesh expressed displeasure. After this, both the countries signed the Ganga water sharing treaty in 1996. This treaty was only for 30 years. This treaty is going to end next year.
Apart from this, Bangladesh can also negotiate with India regarding the Teesta Master Plan. Under the Teesta Master Plan, Bangladesh wants to prevent floods and soil erosion along with dealing with the problem of water crisis in summer. Along with this, Bangladesh wants to build a huge barrage on Teesta and imprison its water in a limited area. For this project, China has agreed to give Bangladesh an amount of 1 billion dollars as a cheap loan.
Experts say that China has been trying to give loan to Bangladesh for the Teesta Master Plan for a long time, but due to India’s displeasure, this deal could not be done. It is expected that Sheikh Hasina will try to find a way out on this visit.
What is the loss to India if China gets the Teesta Master Plan?
According to media reports, India does not want the Teesta Master Plan project to be given to China. The reason for this is strategic and security related reasons. In fact, most of the projects given to China are given to the government companies there. In such a situation, India fears that it can give data related to water flow and many other information related to the river to the Chinese government.
Along with this, if China gets the Teesta project, then its people will be present close to India’s Siliguri Corridor, which is also called ‘Chicken Neck’. Siliguri Corridor has India-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction. This place connects India to the rest of Northeast India.