Tipaimukh: BNP threatens protest, govt says dam not an issue

Dhaka, Aug 10 (PTI) With opposition BNP threatening a
"mass movement" against India's planned Tipaimukh dam project
in Manipur, Bangladesh has said construction of the reservoir
was unlikely to cause a "major problem" for the country, but
hoped that bilateral talks could resolve the issue if it
appeared "problematic".

"Tipaimukh dam does not appear to be a big issue. We
can resolve it through discussions if it becomes apparent that
construction of the dam will create problems for us," Minister
for Water Resources Mahbubur Rahman told 'New Age' newspaper.

Rahman said the government would take initiatives for
holding bilateral talks to reach a solution "if it seems to us
that the Tipaimukh Dam will be a problem".

His comments assume significance in the wake of Bangladesh
Nationalist Party threatening to mount a "mass movement"
against India's controversial project.

"We must thwart India's plan to set up this death-trap
for Bangladesh, which is called the Tipaimukh dam," BNP
Secretary General Khondokar Delwar Hossain told a discussion
on the dam at the National Press Club Sunday.

About the opposition campaigns against the Tipaimukh dam,
the Minister said agitations, including long march, which
reflected the sentiment of the people of Bangladesh over the
issue, were positive and it would help the government deal
with India over the matter.

"But if any quarter tries to do politics over the
Tipaimukh dam issue, the people will judge it," Rahman said.

His comments come two days after a Parliamentary
Delegation submitted a report to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
after its return from India following a weeklong visit, during
which they held talks with senior leaders and officials.

Hasina on Saturday said her government would not give
consent to anything detrimental to the country's interestS in
relation to Tipaimukh Dam construction on the Barak River in
Manipur.

"We will not do or support anything detrimental to the
country's interest in relation to Tipaimukh Dam. Our prime
task will be to protect the country's interest at any cost,"
she said after the leader of the 10-member delegation Abdur
Razzak apprised her of the talks with Indian leaders and
officials.

On their return home from India last week, Razzak told
newsmen that repeated assurances by authorities in New Delhi
convinced them that the dam would not harm Bangladesh.

"We are absolutely convinced and confident by the Indian
assurance that they will not implement any project that would
harm Bangladesh," Razzak said.

He said the Indian government told them that any
environmental impact would be felt by India first before
Bangladesh could feel its exposure to any adverse consequence
of the project that sparked wide concerns in the lower
riparian country.

"India has said the project was not meant for a
hydroelectric dam alone, and not for any irrigation project
requiring withdrawal of waters from the Barak River," the
panel said.

The Barak, which is divided in two streams, the Surma
and Kushiyara entering in Bangladesh, is the main source of
flow in Bangladesh's major Meghna basin covering the
northeastern and central regions.

Bangladesh is criss-crossed by nearly 230 rivers with 54
being trans-boundary ones and mostly originates from India.
PTI