Ahead of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India next month, a secretary-level meeting was held on Tuesday to discuss various issues pertaining to water-sharing treaties of rivers, including Teesta and Ganga, sources said.
The discussions revolved around water-sharing treaties of the Teesta and six other common rivers that included Muhuri, Dharla, Khowai, Monu, Dudhkumar and Gumti.
The sources said Ganges water-sharing issue was also discussed.
A minister-level meeting of the Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission is scheduled on August 25, they said.
Bangladesh's Minister of State for Water Resources Zaheed Farooque will lead a 17-member delegation at the ministerial talks with Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, they said.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to travel to India on September 5 on a three-day visit during which defence cooperation and regional stability are likely to be the focus of the talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Teesta river dispute is an important point of bilateral talks between India and Bangladesh, as the latter has sought a fair and equitable distribution of Teesta waters from India.
The Teesta deal was set to be signed during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh in September, 2011 but was postponed at the last minute due to objections raised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee had expressed strong reservations against giving Bangladesh a greater share of water from the Teesta river.
