Mamata Banerjee Opposes Teesta Water Treaty and North Bengal Division
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has declared that her state will oppose any agreement between India and Bangladesh on sharing the Teesta River water. She believes that sharing this water would deprive North Bengal of its necessary water supply.
Addressing the legislative assembly, Banerjee criticized the central government for not consulting West Bengal on the Teesta Water Treaty and allowing 14 hydro power plants on the Teesta River in Sikkim. She stated, “If we supply water to Bangladesh, then most areas of North Bengal will face a water crisis. This is a one-sided decision.”
Banerjee also lashed out at BJP leaders for proposing the incorporation of North Bengal into northeastern states. She said, “They are trying to divide Bengal. We will never accept this. The people of Bengal will protest against this.”
She condemned BJP’s West Bengal State President Sukanta Majumdar’s letter to PM Modi demanding the incorporation of North Bengal with northeastern India and BJP’s Nishikant Dubey’s statement of declaring Malda and Murshidabad as Union Territories. Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to defame Bengal.
In a NITI Aayog meeting, Banerjee proposed the formation of an Indo-Bhutan river commission to address flood issues in Bengal. She directed state government officials to meet with the irrigation and finance departments to resolve these issues.
Banerjee criticized the central government’s budget allocation for flood-affected states like Bihar and Assam, stating that West Bengal does not receive similar support.
Doubts Revealed
Mamata Banerjee -: Mamata Banerjee is the Chief Minister of West Bengal, a state in India. She is a political leader and the head of the Trinamool Congress party.
Teesta Water Treaty -: The Teesta Water Treaty is an agreement proposed between India and Bangladesh to share the water of the Teesta River, which flows through both countries.
North Bengal -: North Bengal is a region in the northern part of the Indian state of West Bengal. It includes several districts like Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Cooch Behar.
BJP -: BJP stands for Bharatiya Janata Party, which is one of the major political parties in India. It is currently the ruling party at the central government level.
Union Territories -: Union Territories are regions in India that are governed directly by the central government, unlike states which have their own governments.
Indo-Bhutan river commission -: An Indo-Bhutan river commission would be a group formed by India and Bhutan to manage and address issues related to rivers that flow between the two countries, like floods.
Central government’s budget allocation -: This refers to the money that the central government of India decides to spend on different projects and needs, including helping states affected by floods.