Hasina hints at NE transit if India signs Teesta pact

Hasina hints at NE transit if India signs Teesta pact

· Sheikh Hasina|

TIN BIGHA: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid her first visit to the Tin Bigha corridor on Wednesday after India gave Bangladesh 24-hour access to it, thanking the Manmohan Singh regime but also sending a reminder that she would push for the Teesta water-sharing treaty that fell through after Mamata Banerjee opposed it.

The Tin Bigha corridor in Coochbehar district, which links the Bangladeshi enclaves of Angarpota and Dahagram with the Bangladesh mainland, was opened to the enclaves' residents throughout the day, instead of the earlier 12 hours from sunrise to sunset, after the PM's visit to Dhaka on September 6. The Singh-Hasina summit was billed as a " gamechanger" in bilateral ties, but failed to clinch the Teesta pact because the Bengal chief minister didn't agree with its terms and pulled out of the PM's team. Hasina had spoken to Mamata over the phone in a last-minute bid to convince her, but the chief minister stuck to her stand.

On Wednesday, Hasina made it clear in the presence of Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and minister of state for home Jitendra Prasad Singh that the Teesta treaty remained one of her top priorities. "We are hopeful about the treaty," she said when asked if Bangladesh would give India transit to the northeastern states, which would cut journey time by road and rail considerably. "The transit is possible," she added. Bangladesh has been using the transit as barter for the Teesta treaty.

Hasina was received by the Indian ministers at Tin Bigha Chowmatha around 12.20pm. She came in a motorcade with 10 members of her ministry from Patgram in Bangladesh's Lalmonirhat district adjoining Coochbehar, where all 51 Bangladeshi enclaves are located. Angarpota and Dahagram come under the Patgram upazilla. During her brief 15-minute stay, before leaving for a public meeting at Patgram, Hasina said: "Residents of these two enclaves have been waiting for 64 years to get unrestricted connection with the Bangladesh mainland. We are grateful to the Indian government. It only validates the firm relations between the two countries."

Azad said a protocol had been signed during Hasina's visit and was upbeat about ties with Bangladesh. "When Shiekh Hasina is Prime Minister, she walks that extra mile to improve our bilateral relations," Azad said, adding India would pursue a "give-and-take" policy with Bangladesh. He urged the media not to read much into the absence of the Bengal chief minister at the programme. "We have the best of relations with Trinamool Congress and its chief Mamata Banerjee. Mamata could not come (here) because of prior engagements," Azad said.

India's decision to give Bangladeshis 24-hour access to the Tin Bigha corridor has come as a major boost to the 1.5 lakh people residing in the 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in Indian territory. The enclaves - 111 Indian enclaves and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves - have their origins in the 18th century when the kings of Coochbehar and Rangpur used these pieces of land as stakes while playing chess. During the boundary delineation between India and Pakistan, these territories were not accounted for and remained as part of the princely states of Coochbehar and Rangpur. Post-Independence, when these princely states merged with India and Pakistanrespectively, these territories were transformed into enclaves, creating not only a humanitarian crisis for the people living in them but also frictions along the international border.

Regarding Mamata's absence, Azad said on Wednesday that UPA's relations with Mamata were very good. "We have the best of relations with Trinamool Congress and its chief Mamata Banerjee. Mamata could not come (here) because of prior engagements," he said.

Another surprise was the absence of home minister P Chidambaram, who was to welcome Hasina at Tin Bigha. It wasn't not known why he finally called off the visit. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh was subsequently picked to represent the government, but he, too, wasn't sent to Tin Bigha. Eventually, it was Azad who welcomed Hasina.