The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to launch a protest demanding a fair share of Teesta River water and the immediate implementation of the Teesta Master Plan. The party will organize a two-day demonstration on February 17 and 18 across several points along the riverbanks.

Under the slogan ‘Jago Bahe, Teesta Bachai’ (Rise Up, Save Teesta), the demonstrations will take place at 11 key locations in five districts—Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Rangpur, and Nilphamari—covering Kaunia Bridge, Mohipur Bridge, and the Teesta Barrage Point. BNP sources confirmed that the program would feature tents set up at these locations.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will inaugurate the event at the Lalmonirhat Rail Bridge on February 17, and his speech will be broadcast live via LED screens at all demonstration points. On February 18, BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman will join the concluding session virtually from London. The event will be overseen by BNP’s Rangpur Divisional Organizing Secretary, Asadul Habib Dulu.

According to BNP media cell member Shayrul Kabir Khan, the two-day program will feature cultural performances, including plays, Jari songs, Jatra, Gambhira, speeches, and exhibitions. Additionally, BNP activists and the general public will be served Khichuri cooked with rice and fresh potatoes at the demonstration sites.

BNP leaders believe this movement will politically pressure India on the Teesta issue. Speaking on the matter, central BNP leader Asadul Habib Dulu stated that the once prosperous Teesta River has now become a source of distress for northern Bangladesh. He pointed out that the river’s flow has drastically declined, reducing water levels below knee height.

Dulu emphasized that securing Teesta’s fair water share has been a long-standing demand. He blamed inequitable water distribution for Bangladesh’s inability to receive sufficient water during the dry season. He also highlighted that the Teesta Master Plan, a Chinese-backed initiative aimed at establishing satellite cities, housing, economic zones, and tourism hubs, was stalled due to Indian objections despite a feasibility study in 2016. BNP is now calling for its immediate implementation.

Regarding the protest, Dulu mentioned that the life struggles, joys, and sorrows of Teesta basin residents would be depicted through theater and music over the two-day event to mobilize public support.

BNP previously staged a long march from Dhaka to Teesta in 2014. On April 22 that year, then-acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir led a convoy from Dhaka’s Uttara, holding roadside rallies at Kaliakoir in Gazipur, Tangail Bypass, Sirajganj, Bogura, Gobindaganj, and Palashbari in Gaibandha. The convoy reached Rangpur that night and resumed the march the next day towards Dalia Barrage in Nilphamari, concluding the program with a rally at Teesta Barrage on April 23.