Much-awaited Mamata's visit

WE wholeheartedly welcome the first ever woman West Bengal Chief Minister, who is arriving in Dhaka today for a three-day visit. Her maiden visit to Bangladesh as the Chief Minister is undoubtedly good news for both the countries, as it revitalises the prospect of settling two long-standing unresolved issues, Teesta water sharing and Land Boundary Agreement (LBA). 

The water levels of Teesta have dropped drastically, reaching a record low in 2014 as a result of obstructions at the upper reaches. Bangladesh's share should be equitable so that it does not severely hamper the biodiversity and lives and livelihoods of communities living near the river. Despite repeated appeals from Bangladesh, the Indian government, in the face of opposition from West Bengal, has thus far recoiled from addressing the concerns regarding Teesta water. In fact, in 2011, Mamata Banerjee had backed out at the last minute from the then PM Manmohan Singh's visit to Bangladesh, opposing the Teesta treaty, which had all but been finalised. 

The LBA bill, unlike in the past, has been endorsed by the Indian parliamentary standing committee on the external affairs ministry. Hopefully the deck will finally be cleared for the exchange of enclaves as per the LBA. Meanwhile, we have to combat terrorism that straddles the border jointly and for that the involvement of the Pashchim Banga government is as essential as that of New Delhi.  

Now, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reassurance of resolving our differences, we sincerely hope that Mamata's visit will accelerate the process of reaching the deals within a foreseeable timeframe. With her august visit, we are looking forward to a heralding of warm relations between Bangladesh and West Bengal.