Daily News Analysis » 38th Meeting Of Joint Rivers Commission Of India And Bangladesh

38th Meeting Of Joint Rivers Commission Of India And Bangladesh

Why in the News?

Recently, the 38th Meeting of the Ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh was held in New Delhi.

Key Points:

About Outcomes of 38th Meeting of Ministerial-level Meeting

  • Finalization of
    • The Memorandum of understanding on interim water sharing of the Kushiyara river.
    • Location of water intake point on the Feni River, to meet the drinking water needs of Sabroom town in Tripura.
  • 8 more rivers have been added for data exchange in developing the framework of water sharing agreements between the India-Bangladesh.
  • Water sharing of common rivers.
  • Sharing of flood data.
  • Addressing river pollution.
  • Conduct joint studies on sedimentation management.
  • River bank protection works.

Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh

  • 1972: The Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh was constitutedas a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interest on common / border / transboundary rivers.
  • India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which 7 rivers have been identified earlier for developing the framework of water sharing agreements on priority.

The Kushiyara River:

  • It is a distributary river in Bangladesh and Assam.
  • It forms on the India-Bangladesh border as a branch of the Barak River, when the Barak separates into the Kushiyara and Surma.
  • The waters of the Kushiyara thus originate in the state of Nagaland in India and pick up tributaries from Manipur, Mizoram and Assam.
  • From its origin at the mouth of the Barak, also known as the Amlshid bifurcation point, the Kushiyara flows westward forming the boundary between Assam, India, and the Sylhet District of Bangladesh.

Image Source: The Hindu

Feni River:

  • The Feni river, which forms part of the India-Bangladesh border, originates in the South Tripura district and passes through Sabroom town on the Indian side.
  •  It meets the Bay of Bengal after it flows into Bangladesh