Foreign minister Dipu Moni has said the government will "soon" sign a deal with India on sharing water of the common river Teesta over which Bangladesh has the largest irrigation project. She told journalists at a news briefing on Friday on her just-concluded India visit that Indian separatist ULFA leader Anup Chetia would not be handed over to India as per an extradition treaty the government was going to sign with New Delhi.

She said India would allow products from the land-locked Nepal and Bhutan to reach Bangladesh via Indian territories and the two countries would be able to use Mongla port. "Both the countries want to sign a deal on sharing water of the river Teesta as soon as possible," said Moni, who toured India from Sep 7 to 9.

The minister said the agreement would be inked as soon as joint hydrological observation team, comprising experts from Bangladesh and India, prepared the draft on water availability and other related issues. "The joint hydrological observation team will meet this month. "We want to expedite the negotiation on Teesta water-sharing and strike a deal on it," Moni told bdnews24.com after the news conference.

Bangladesh and India have been engaged in dialogue on the sharing of the Teesta for years, according to water resources ministry sources. During dry season, the river faces water crunch as India has constructed Gozaldoba Barrage in the upstream and diverts water from the river that enters Bangladesh's greater Rangpur region. Bangladesh's Teesta barrage (first phase) in the downstream covers irrigation projects on 7,50,000 hectares of land, as per the Water Development Board. Water shortage in the Teesta very often disrupts irrigation in the vast tracts of land and put Bangladesh's agriculture in trouble.

As many as 54 rivers have entered Bangladesh from India and Bangladesh signed the only deal with India to share water of the common river Ganges in 1996. The two countries at the talks agreed settling all unresolved bilateral issues including water sharing of common rivers, enhancing connectivity, handing over criminals, managing borders and combating regional and international terrorism.

Moni had talks with the Indian prime minister, foreign minister, finance minister, energy minister and water resources minister. The foreign minister elaborated Dhaka's agreement on transfer of convicted persons with Delhi. She said as per the agreement, Indian citizens sentenced in Bangladesh would be able to finish rest of their jail terms in India if they applied to Bangladesh government. "The person whose name (Anup Chatia) has come, as far as I know, has finished his jail term. "The agreement will not be applicable for the persons that have served out their terms," she said, replying to a bdnews24.com question.

Anup Chetia was caught in Bangladesh in 1997 for staying in Bangladesh illegally and later jailed by a Dhaka court. The foreign minister said Bangladesh would get transit facilities to reach Nepal and Bhutan as per the latest agreement with India. India would be allowed to use Ashuganj port only to take sophisticated machinery, the minister said, to its Tripura state for constructing a power plant there. She also said India would sell Bangladesh 100 megawatts of electricity "on a priority basis" after connecting the power grids of the two countries. She said prime minister Sheikh Hasina would visit India soon and sign some important deals.

-bdnews