Bangladesh visit: Teesta not on agenda, says Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata, June 1: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that the Teesta river water sharing agreement will not be discussed during her Bangladesh visit.

She would leave for Bangladesh on June 5 and join Prime Minister Narendra Modi during apart of his two-day visit to the neighbouring nation.'

Responding to a question over the progress on the Teesta water sharing agreement between India and Bangladesh, Banerjee said, "It (Teesta water sharing agreement) is not on the agenda".

She was attending an event, Business Made Easy - The Next Level to promote investment in the state.

Banerjee is slated to leave for Bangladesh on June 5 and return to West Bengal the next day after the signing of the Land Boundary Agreement. In Dhaka, she will join Modi, who is scheduled to begin his two-day trip June 6.

Bangladesh's envoy Syed Moazzem Ali had last Friday told the media in New Delhi that the discussion on Teesta water sharing will come up during Modi's tour to his country and expressed "cautious optimism" on the deal being inked.

Banerjee is slated to leave for Bangladesh on June 5

The Teesta water sharing agreement was put on hold after Banerjee's strong opposition over fears that the treaty could spell disaster for northern West Bengal.

In September 2011, Banerjee had embarrassed the then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh by pulling out of his delegation to Bangladesh over the water sharing agreement, forcing India to drop it from the agenda.

The Indian parliament earlier this month passed a key constitutional amendment bill to give effect to the swapping of border land enclaves between India and Bangladesh under a 1974 agreement.

The historic Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh deals with the transfer of 111 enclaves with a total area of 17,160.63 acres to Bangladesh, while Dhaka is to transfer 51 enclaves with an area of 7,110.02 acres to India. A 6.1-km undefined border stretch will be demarcated with the bill being passed by parliament.

IANS