The Bengal government will urge the Narendra Modi-led Centre to engage with Dhaka on the issue of reduced water flow in the Atreyee and the Punarbhaba — which pour into South Dinajpur district from Bangladesh before entering the neighbouring country again — because of construction of dams on the rivers on the Bangladesh side.

“This is a matter involving two countries…. We have already written to the Centre about the Atreyee. We will again write to the Centre about the two rivers so that they can take it up with the Bangladesh authorities,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee said at an administrative review meeting for North and South Dinajpur districts in Raiganj on Tuesday.

During the meeting, both South Dinajpur district magistrate Ayesha Rani A. and state agricultural marketing minister Biplab Mitra, who is from the same district, informed Mamata about the reduced water flow in the rivers and the consequent impact on the livelihood of farmers and fishermen.

“The fishermen are having a lot of difficulty as water level in the rivers is going down steadily…. Irrigation by using river water is also getting affected and hence, farmers are suffering,” said Rani when the chief minister asked her about water scarcity in the district.

Sources in the district administration said at least 50 per cent of the district’s 17-lakh odd population was suffering because of reduced water flow in the two main rivers of South Dinajpur.

The sharing of river water between India and Bangladesh, two friendly neighbours, has often been a controversial issue. Dhaka has been complaining since 2011 that Bangladesh is not getting its due share of water from the Teesta, which flows into Bangladesh from north Bengal.

“The Teesta water sharing agreement between the two countries cannot be sealed because of Mamata’s resistance. Now, she is complaining that Bengal is not getting water because of construction of dams by Bangladesh upstream the Atreyee and the Punarbhaba. The issue of sharing water in the trans-national rivers is likely to become more complicated in coming days,” said a source in Delhi.

Aware that the issue is Delhi’s domain, Mamata hasn’t made any adverse comments about Bangladesh. But the chief minister stressed that she would persuade the Centre to take up the matter with the Sheikh Hasina government.

While the state government has decided to make reduced water flow in the two rivers an issue, officials could not give details of the dams that Bangladesh allegedly constructed upstream.

“We have come to know about the existence of the dams, which has gradually reduced water flow over the last few years…. But we cannot give specifics as the dams are not visible on Google map,” said a source.

The fact that the state government was not expecting an immediate resolution to the water sharing impasse became clear when Mamata said her government was trying to find a solution by laying the foundation stone for a Rs 32 crore project to retain water in the Atreyee during the rainy season to ensure that water was available for residents of the district during lean months.

“This will help fishermen and farmers alike. We have to complete the project as soon as possible so that people don’t suffer,” said Mamata.

She also instructed chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi to write to Delhi to bear the cost of the project.