- CSlearance after changes in barrage height
OUR CORRESPONDENT

Gangtok, June 13: The Centre has given permission for the resumption of survey and investigations for three power projects with a combined potential of 709MW on the Teesta and its tributaries in North Sikkim.

Sarikah Atreya

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given permission for continuation of survey and investigations for three mega power projects out of six projects in North Sikkim that had been put on hold following adverse reports submitted by Centre of Inter-Disciplinary Studies of Mountains and Hill Environment (CISME) last year.

Fighting for water is not as rare as we think it is. Brawls and loss of life are reported every summer from different parts of the country. Yet, there is very little urgency about using water more efficiently. VIBHA SHARMA reports on the worsening situation

* DIAMONDS AND OIL ETC ARE WORTH NOTHING IN THE ABSENCE OF WATER
* MOST PEOPLE FEEL WATER SHOULD COME FREE

Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen said that Bangladesh is hopeful of signing the Teesta water sharing treaty with India soon.

Preparations in this regard are on to hold a secretary level meeting in Dhaka soon, he said while talking to BSS here yesterday.

Ramesh said the meeting would discuss in detail the draft proposals placed by India and Bangladesh in the last Joint River Commis

After a gap of five years, India and Bangladesh on Thursday resumed discussions on the sharing of the Teesta river waters and issues relating to other rivers.

The water resources secretaries of the two countries met here in the morning, followed by the ministeriallevel joint river commission meeting later in the day.

The talks will continue on Friday.

NEW DELHI, 18 MARCH: As the two-day water talks began here, Bangladesh today hoped to reach an interim agreement on the vexed issue of Teesta river water sharing at the meeting being held after a gap of five years while India insisted on sorting out certain technical issues first.

The long pending Teesta water sharing issue is likely to be resolved as minister and secretary level talks of the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) between Dhaka and Delhi would start on March 17.

The secretaries of the water resources ministries of Bangladesh and India will sit on March 17, while the ministers will discuss the issue for next three days to reach a treaty.

"The ministers from bot

Truckloads of trash dumped in river
RAJEEV RAVIDAS
Waste being dumped in the Teesta at Labarbote near Kalimpong. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Haroon Habib

DHAKA: Bangladesh and India have agreed to resolve outstanding issues relating to water sharing and decided that they will jointly start work for the protection of banks of the common rivers.

The consensus came at the end of the two-day crucial water talks at the Secretary level here on Tuesday.

India and Bangladesh today launched their crucial two-day talks to hammer out a deal on sharing of waters of Teesta river, with Dhaka favouring an "interim agreement" on the issue if it is not possible to reach a long-term pact.

The Secretary-level talks opened at the state guest house of Meghna this morning, a Water Resource Ministry spokesman told PTI.

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