JRC stalemate: Dhaka seeks role

‘‘We will tell you about the problem afterwards. We have still a lot to discuss,’’ he said.

India has taken exception to Bangladesh’s demand for including the ambitious inter-linking of rivers project in the agenda of the JRC on the grounds that the plan is still in the conceptual stage. Dhaka, however, has insisted that it needs to be made party to all discussions right from the start as this could impact its water resource management considerably.

India has maintained that Bangladesh’s fears were ‘‘imaginary’’. Since the plans were still at a very nascent level it was baseless for Dhaka to hold such apprehensions, official sources said. Bangladesh feels if its concerns over the project were not acknowledged right now, it could result in a ‘‘fait accompli’’ situation once it is implemented. The issue has dominated the talks as both sides have not been able to reach a conclusion on whether this could be included in any form within the JRC.

Among other issues, Bangladesh has raised the issue of a water sharing agreement — just like the one reached for Ganges — for some 54 rivers the two countries benefit from. However, India is of view that such an accord cannot be arrived at unless adequate work has been done at the experts level, especially on the quantum of water available in these rivers during various seasons.

After the talks, Sethi held discussions with his Bangladesh counterpart Hafizuddin Ahmed for several hours today.

A joint statement was expected by about 10-30 pm, but both sides once again went behind closed doors saying more was to be discussed. Ahmed, in fact, refused to take questions as he hurried back for discussions.