Bangladesh awards ₹90 billion Teesta River Project to China instead of India !

Dhaka (Bangladesh) – Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has rejected India’s proposal to invest in the Teesta River Project and instead awarded it to China. Under the estimated ₹90 billion Teesta River Management Project, China will provide a loan of approximately ₹70 billion, which Bangladesh will repay over a period of 50 years. In 2024, India had proposed an investment of ₹90 billion in the project to keep China out of the region and had submitted the proposal to the then Sheikh Hasina Government. However, following the collapse of her Government, no decision could be taken on the proposal.

https://x.com/SanatanPrabhat/status/2078431786980593791

China to be just 22 km from the Siliguri Corridor

The 414-kilometre-long Teesta River originates in the Himalayas, flows through Sikkim and West Bengal, and enters Bangladesh. Under the 2011 interim water-sharing agreement, Bangladesh was to receive 37.5% of the river’s water. However, the West Bengal Government opposed the agreement, due to which it could not be implemented.

The project site is situated only 10 to 12 kilometres from the Indian border and about 22 kilometres from the strategically important Siliguri Corridor, also known as the ‘Chicken Neck’. The ‘Chicken Neck’ is a very narrow land corridor, about 22 kilometres long, in West Bengal. It is the only land route connecting India’s seven northeastern States with the rest of the country.

The project will be executed by PowerChina. According to security experts, PowerChina is not merely a commercial enterprise but a Chinese state-owned enterprise with deep links to the Chinese military. They have expressed concern that the long-term presence of hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians near India’s sensitive northeastern border will pose a major security challenge for India.

China discusses supplying fighter aircraft to Bangladesh

According to sources, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Defence Adviser, Brigadier General Shamsul Islam, recently met the Chinese Ambassador. The meeting included discussions on China’s supply of fighter aircraft to Bangladesh.