Man-made intervention in the upstream turns Teesta a wild river in monsoon and a desert in winter.

“We used to have bumper crops here,” says farmer Mahir Uddin of Char Kalmati village in Lalmonirhat. “The Teesta River used to flow year-round but nowadays there's not enough water in winter for optimal agriculture.”

A very wise man had said, “To say nothing, especially when speaking, is half the art of diplomacy.”

It is important to recognise that allowing 'coastal shipping' up to Ashuganj or even up to Pangaon, essentially seeking engagement in transit peration, would violate the existing protocol, approved by Bangabandhu, unless those vessels are owned by Bangladeshis.

By all indications from Delhi and Kolkata, it is now clear that there will be no deal on Teesta during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Dhaka.

Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, Professor of International Relations at Dhaka University, talks to Nahela Nowshin of The Daily Star about contending issues between Bangladesh and India on the occasion of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh.

Discussions between Bangladesh and India relating to sharing of Teesta waters is being discussed behind the scene, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali says.

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bangladesh visit, people living by the Teesta River are hopeful that the Teesta water sharing agreement will be signed during his visit.

Bangladesh government should appeal to UN to solve Teesta river water sharing issue since there has been no progress in signing the deal bilaterally, water and environmental experts say.