Senior BJP leader L K Advani today asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to initiate efforts to amend the 1964 Indo-Nepal water Treaty to control recurrence of floods in Bihar and other Indian territories bordering Nepal.
"Nepal's Prime Minister Prachanda (Pushpa Kumar Dahal alias Prachanda) is to visit India shortly. Keeping in mind our past experiences of the Treaty of 1964, I requested the Prime Minister to work on amending it so that India and Nepal could have a win-win situation," Advani told reporters outside the Prime Minister's Office.
Advani, who led a delegation comprising JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad and former minister Shahnawaz Hussain to the PMO, had carried out an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas on Tuesday.
He explained that amending the agreement would help Nepal enjoy the benefits of hydel power, while protecting India from recurring floods.
"We can show the world that India can turn an adversity into an opportunity," he said.
Advani said the first floods in Kosi river occured in 1954 when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister.
Later, in 1964 an agreement was signed between New Delhi and Kathmandu to prevent floods in the area.
The Leader of Opposition said though Nehru had planned a larger project including a barrage 50 km inside Nepal, it could not be constructed at the time due to some reservations.
Instead, a smaller barrage was constructed on the Indian side which has proved inadequate over the years.
