The India-Bangladesh 37th ministerial-level Joint River Commission meeting was held in March 2010. A major breakthrough achieved during the meeting was the decision to sign an agreement within a year on the Teesta River water sharing, which provides key support to agricultural production in the northwest region of Bangladesh. During the meeting, India and Bangladesh exchanged draft accords on Teesta water sharing however, no information was disclosed on the percentage of river water likely to be shared between the countries. 

The Teesta River enters Bangladesh near Nilphamari district and courses 45 kilometres through the rice predominant districts of Rangpur, Lalmonirhat and Gaibandha before meeting the Brahmaputra River in Kurigram.  The Teesta River Floodplain (TRF), which includes the extreme northwest region of the country, accounted for 14 percent of the total cropped area in 2001. In addition, it supported around 8.5 percent of the total population in the country.  Around 63 percent of the total cropped area in the region is irrigated, indicating a direct association between irrigation water availability and agricultural land use. At present, the TRF along with the region left of the Ganges River is considered to be a ‘dry zone’.  

The TRF is largely dependent on transboundary river inflow for the supply and management of its water resources and agricultural production. The Teesta River barrage at Gozaldoba in India controls the amount of water flow downstream to Bangladesh. In order to increase the irrigation potential of the northwest region, Bangladesh constructed the Dalia barrage on the Teesta River in Lalmonirhat district to provide irrigation water from the river through a canal network. In the dry season, the exclusive control of the river water at Gazoldoba renders the Dalia Barrage almost useless for diversion of water due to low flows. Moreover, sudden release of excessive water through the Gazoldoba Barrage during the rainy season causes floods, bank erosion and damages huge amounts of crops downstream. Steps therefore, need to be been taken to examine the water flow at both Gozaldoba and Dalia points in order to manage high and low season water flows and minimize the economic losses.

Bangladesh proposes water sharing on a 50-50 basis at Gazoldoba however, water falls under the state subject in India. A final decision therefore, can be reached only after consultations with the state government of West Bengal in India. 

As future water demand is expected to increase significantly in both countries, water sharing will play a crucial role in water resources management. Any unilateral basin transfer of the river water in the future will affect Bangladesh in terms of lower availability of water downstream. This is likely to have an impact not just on food security but also hamper any future planning of irrigated agriculture in Bangladesh. In the future, water-related disputes are likely to surface frequently unless steps are taken to prevent such water-related issues. Any form of conflict over water resources will only lead to waste of time and resources further exacerbating socio-economic problems in both the countries. 

A bilateral cooperation on water sharing alone is not likely to provide solutions to the existing water problems. India and Bangladesh must undertake appropriate joint initiatives to build reservoirs upstream of the Teesta River in India and within Bangladesh to store the excessive water during the rainy season for utilization during the dry season. In addition, an integrated flood management program has to be planned and implemented during the rainy season and summer months when there is a higher frequency of normal and flash floods. A positive step in this direction has been taken with India agreeing to share flood projection data on a continuous basis and extend the lead time for flood warning to more than 57 hours. This needs to be extended to include the Teesta River exclusively in order to prevent economic damage of crops and livelihoods. 

Any future agreement signed must be consistent with the principle of justice to get an equitable share of water during the dry season based on past, present and future water utilizations. However, it is important to note that the agricultural production in Bangladesh has been severely hampered by the diversion of Ganges River water at the Farraka barrage in India though; there exists a water sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh. Therefore, the effectiveness of the water sharing agreement must be fully evident through strict adherence of the incorporated principles else water-related issues will undoubtedly become an irritant leading to future conflicts between India and Bangladesh.