By Rahul Dass, IANS,
Dhaka : India and Bangladesh were Tuesday unable to sign an agreement on sharing waters of the Teesta river, Indian Foreign Secretary Rajan Mathai said here.
“We were unable to carry out the proposed agreement on Teesta,” Mathai said, at a press conference at the end of the first day of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two-day visit to Bangladesh.
The deal on Teesta, which begins its journey in Sikkim and flows through north Bengal before entering Bangladesh, was not signed following the objections of India’s West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the final draft of the agreement.
Banerjee, who was supposed to accompany Manmohan Singh for the Sep 6-7 visit, refused to join the delegation in protest.
Bangladesh had sought an explanation from India over the postponement of the Teesta water accord.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mizarul Kayes sought an explanation from the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka, Rajeet Mitter, for delaying the Teesta river water sharing deal, reported the Daily Star Tuesday.
The absence of an agreement had also delayed a similar agreement on sharing the waters of the Feni river, Mathai said.
The Feni, which flows 135 km south of Tripura capital Agartala, has been in dispute since 1934. In a total catchment area of 1,147 square km of the river, 535 square km falls in India and the rest in Bangladesh.