Modi and Hasina open 131.5­km oil pipeline to Bangladesh

  • March 19, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Modi and Hasina open 131.5­km oil pipeline to Bangladesh

Subject : Geography

Section: Indian Physical Geography

Concept :

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart 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.
  • The 57-km-long pipeline will bring diesel from a marketing depot in Siliguri to Dinajpur of Bangladesh. Ms. Hasina and Mr. Modi had inaugurated the works for laying the pipeline in September 2018.

Issue of Teesta River

  • Welcoming the initiative, Ms. Hasina thanked Mr. Modi and the Chief Minister of Assam, HimantaBiswa Sarma, but skipped any mention of West Bengal Chief Minister 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 have been in the middle of a stalled negotiation for more than a decade.

About Teesta River

  • Teesta river is a major right bank tributary of the Brahmaputra (known as Jamuna in Bangladesh), flowing through India and Bangladesh.
  • It originates in the Himalayas near the Tso Lhamo Lake, in Sikkim and flows to the south through West Bengal before entering Bangladesh.
  • Pahurni glacier, Khangse glacier and ChhoLhamo Lake are also considered the sources of the Teesta River.
  • River basin Distribution: The major portion of the river basin lies in India and only 17% of it is in Bangladesh.
  • The river joins the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh before it flows into the Bay of Bengal after meeting with the Ganges and the Meghna.
  • Two major large barrages constructed on Teesta –
  • Gajoldoba in West Bengal, India
  • Duani in Bangladesh.

Major Tributaries of Teesta River :

  • Left-bank Tributaries: LachungChhu, ChakungChhu, DikChhu, Rani Khola and RangpoChhu.
  • Right-bank Tributaries: ZemuChhu, RangyongChhu and Rangit River.
Geography Modi and Hasina open 131.5­km oil pipeline to Bangladesh