‘India should show more generosity’: Sheikh Hasina on India-Bangladesh water dispute

New Delhi, Sep 04: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday said the 'long standing' water-sharing dispute between the two countries should be resolved to ease the problems the citizens of her country are facing.

Sheikh Hasina is set to visit India between September 5 and 8, during which she will hold bilateral consultations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Sheikh Hasina said: "We are downstream, water is coming from India. So, India should show more generosity. Both countries would be beneficiaries. Sometimes, our people suffer a lot because of this, especially Teesta river."

"I think it should be solved. We found that PM (Modi) is very eager to solve this but the problem is in your country. We share only Ganges water but we've 54 other rivers. It's a long-standing problem, should be resolved: Bangladesh PM on India-Bangladesh water-sharing dispute," she added.

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. The Ganga water treaty signed in 1996 is up for renewal in 2026.