Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart from Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina on Saturday virtually inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline that will bring diesel from Assam’s Numaligarh refinery’s marketing depot in Siliguri to Parbatipur in northern Bangladesh.
Welcoming the initiative, Ms. Hasina thanked Mr. Modi and the Chief MInister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma but skipped any mention of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. The omission is being interpreted as a sign of Bangladesh’s unhappiness regarding the planned construction of hydel power projects in West Bengal that may divert the waters of the Teesta river, and which have been in the middle of a stalled negotiation for more than a decade.
The 131.57 km-long pipeline will bring diesel from a marketing depot in Siliguri to Parbatipur in Dinajpur of Bangladesh. Ms. Hasina and Mr. Modi had inaugurated the works for laying the pipeline in September 2018.
Helping energy security
In her speech, Ms. Hasina thanked India for its partnership in her country’s quest for energy security, saying, “Out of the total length of the pipeline, Bangladesh has 126.57 km and India has five kilometres. The pipeline has become operational from today. I thank everyone associated with this pipeline. Many countries in the world are suffering from energy insecurity because of the Russia-Ukraine war, but this pipeline will help our people.” Ms. Hasina added that at least 16 districts of Bangladesh would benefit from the pipeline.
In his remarks, Mr. Modi praised Ms Hasina’s leadership, expressing satisfaction over India’s participation in the developmental journey of Bangladesh. “Whether it is in the field of transport, in the field of energy, in the field of electricity, or in the digital field, the more our connectivity increases, the more our people-to-people relations will be strengthened,” said Mr Modi.
“I express my sincere gratitude to the Government of India for supporting the expenses incurred in the laying of the pipeline and I thank the people and the Chief Minister of Assam for supporting this pipeline. Bangladesh has emerged as a good market for the energy from Assam. This will benefit the people of Assam and the rest of India,” said Ms. Hasina. Around 90 lakh litres of diesel were imported by Bangladesh through the India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline within its first few working hours on Saturday itself, The Daily Star reported from Dhaka.
Subtle message
Ms. Hasina thanked Mr. Modi for supporting the project, and referred to “leaders from India” without specifically naming Ms. Banerjee during her speech. The omission of Ms. Banerjee’s name from her speech is being viewed as a subtle message conveying Dhaka’s unhappiness about reports of West Bengal’s plans to construct hydel power projects and canals near Darjeeling to irrigate agricultural fields in Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar that may divert the Teesta’s waters. Earlier, water expert Ainun Nishat had told The Hindu that New Delhi should take Dhaka into confidence before West Bengal proceeds with diverting the Teesta’s waters.
Seheli Sabrin, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh, had told the media on Thursday that Dhaka may raise the issue at the UN Water Conference in New York. The bilateral relations between the two neighbours will be in focus as Bangladesh has been invited as a “guest country” at the G-20 summit to be held here in September. The water issue is also significant for Ms. Hasina, who is poised to face a general election later this year where her government’s inability to get the waters of the Teesta may make her a target of attack from her opposition, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
