News

INDIA-BANGLADESH RIVER WATER SHARING

                                                                                                     INDIA-BANGLADESH RIVER WATER SHARING

 

Why in News?

Recently, India and Bangladesh have finalised the text of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on interim water sharing of the Kushiyara river.

• It was finalised during the 38th meeting of the ministerial-level Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) of India and Bangladesh,
• It welcomed the finalisation of the design and location of the water intake point on Feni River to meet the drinking water needs of Sabroom town in Tripura as per the October 2019 India-Bangladesh MoU.
• Further, the discussion was held on a number of ongoing bilateral issues of mutual interest, including water-sharing of common rivers, sharing of flood data, addressing river pollution, conducting joint studies on sedimentation management, river bank protection works, etc.

Joint Rivers Commission (JRC)

• The Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh was constituted in the year 1972 as a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interest on common / border / transboundary rivers.
• The JRC is headed by Water Resources Ministers of both countries.

Significance:

• It is commencing after a long gap of twelve years, although technical interactions under the framework of JRC have continued in the interim.
• As India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which seven have been identified earlier for developing the framework of water-sharing agreements on priority.
• During the latest meeting, they agreed to include eight more rivers for data exchange.

Kushiyara River

• The Kushiyara River is a distributary river in Bangladesh and Assam.
• It forms on the India-Bangladesh border as a branch of the Barak River when the Barak separates into the Kushiyara and Surma.
• The waters of the Kushiyara pick up tributaries from Manipur, Mizoram, and Assam.
• The Kushiyara rejoins with the Surma at Markuli in Ajmiriganj upazila (Bangladesh) and flows south upto Bhairab Bazar (Bangladesh) receiving the name Kalni.
• The Kalni meets with the Dhanu (Bangladesh), a branch of the Surma and renamed as the Meghna.