Bangladesh, May 6 -- Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman on Tuesday signalled a notable shift in Dhaka's approach to the long-stalled Teesta water-sharing dispute, indicating that Bangladesh cannot wait indefinitely for India and will move ahead with China-backed development projects along the river.

"We cannot simply remain idle - we have our own work to carry out," Khalilur told reporters at Dhaka airport before departing for a three-day visit to Beijing.

Khalilur underscored the urgency of the issue for communities dependent on the Teesta River.

"This is a matter of life and death for people living along the river," he said, referring to the ecological and economic challenges faced by those communities.

"This is a commit...