A joint committee comprising officials from India and Bangladesh conducted an on-the-spot inspection of irrigation and drinking water projects linking the Feni river in south Tripura. A section of the river demarcates the border and demands intervention from both governments, should there be a development initiative and dispute.
Tripura government officials on Saturday said a 12-member Bangladesh delegation comprising Ramzan Ali Pramanik, Chief Engineer of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, and Mahamudur Rahman, a member of the Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission, joined Indian officials led by south Tripura District Magistrate Saju Waheed in the inspection along the river in Sabroom subdivision on Friday.
A large area of south Tripura, especially Belonia and Sabroom subdivisions, depend on Feni river for drinking water as well as irrigation for farmlands. A project to draw 1.62 cusecs of water from the river is yet to be completed.
The joint team essentially inspected the project site and discussed technical issues besides land and boundary issues. Senior officials of the Border Security Force, and its counterpart Border Guards Bangladesh, were present during the inspection.
South Tripura District Magistrate Saju Waheed said that work for a sealed water treatment plant linking Feni river in the Anand Para locality in Sabroom will be resumed soon. He said discussions had been held with Bangladesh officials on matters related to the setting up of 22 pumps for extracting water from Feni for irrigation purposes on the Indian side.
