Another meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission group formed by India and Bangladesh was held on 16 March 2021. It decided to expand cooperation on water resources.
The Joint Rivers Commission is a bilateral working group formed on 19 March 1972 in Dhaka on the basis of a Joint Declaration of the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh, signed by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The JRC is responsible for 57 identified border rivers, 54 with India and 3 with Myanmar.
The main responsibilities of the JRC include working with neighbouring countries on the development, management and sharing of water resources in international, transboundary rivers, resolving problems of transboundary rivers, and monitoring and implementing preventive solutions during the dry season.
During the meeting, the Indian side confirmed its sincere commitment and willingness to take further efforts in sharing river water resources.
Noting that India and Bangladesh share 54 common rivers that directly affect the lives of people in the two countries, close cooperation between India and Bangladesh is extremely important.
Both sides have agreed to extend cooperation to the whole spectrum of water resource issues, including river water sharing, pollution mitigation, riverbank protection, flood management, river basin management, etc.
In Bangladesh, floods and powerful winds are disasters that residents have to deal with on a daily basis. Due to deforestation, mudslides occur there killing thousands of inhabitants. So far, the history of the area has been marked by two major floods, the first in 1970, which caused the deaths of half a million people. Another one in 1991 led to the deaths of more than 250 000 inhabitants. Such events have provided a reason to take preventive action in order to minimise the risk of further hazards.
Aleksandra Zakrzewska
Source: banglanews24.com.