'Persuade India to modify Tipaimukh Dam project'

Participants at a national consultation meeting on 'Under-construction Tipaimukh Dam project: Responsibilities of water rights activists' held at the National Press Club in the city yesterday. ActionAid Bangladesh and Angikar Bangladesh organised the discussion. PHOTO: STAR

As the project was initially a Bangladesh-India joint project aiming 'to solve the problems of Kachhar (in Assam) and adjoining areas in Bangladesh', Dhaka has still scope to involve itself in the project, they said.

The issue can also be addressed through forming a regional alliance involving Nepal and Pakistan, they added.

ActionAid Bangladesh and Angikar Bangladesh organised the discussion titled 'Under-construction Tipaimukh Dam project: Responsibilities of water rights activists' at the National Press Club in the city.

The experts said a strong commitment and greater consensus of all political parties are needed to persuade India to modify the project.

They also underscored the need for establishing a common platform of the peoples of both the countries, who are the stakeholders of the project, to this end.

Mohammad Hilaluddin, executive director of Angikar Bangladesh, said that although 30 percent of the project work has been completed, the Indian government did not conduct any environmental impact assessment, an important precondition for any project.

India even did not consult with Bangladesh regarding its projects involving common rivers, though it is an international norm, he added.

Referring to the activities of the Joint Rivers Commission, economist Abul Mal Abdul Muhit demanded timely publication of information exchanged between the two sides, so that people can be aware of their responsibilities.

He also called for building people-to-people network between the two countries to pressure India to modify or cancel the project.

Water expert Dr Ainun Nishat, agriculturist Dr Abdur Razzak MP, Sharifuzzaman Sharif of Nagorik Uddog, Nurul Islam Nahid of Awami League, Bimal Biswas of Workers' Party, Ruhin Hossain Prince of Communist Party of Bangladesh, Dr Amiruzzaman Khan and Dr Jahirul Islam also spoke.

Prof AFM Faruk of Dhaka University chaired the discussion moderated by Shihab Uddin Ahmed of ActionAid.