Editorial Page
Tipaimukh dam threat
By
Thu, 2 Feb 2006, 10:46:00

ACCORDING to a report, India is trasforming from drawing board stage to reality a project that could endanger the Meghna river system in Bangladesh. After the Padma and the Brahmaputra, the Meghna is the third major river in the country. Already, the building of the Farraka project has led to extremely low flows of the Padma. The Farraka project is gradually proving to be the cause of man-made environmental and economic disaster for a large area in south-western Bangladesh. It now appears that another Farraka like project is going to be built that would similarly withdraw waters from the other main river of Bangladesh, the Meghna, this time causing similar ruinous effects in the north-eastern parts of Bangladesh.

This project, known as the Tipaimukh hydro-electricity project, seeks to divert water from the Barak river in the eastern Indian state of Manipur. The river divides into two streams, the Surma and the Kushiara before entering Bangladesh through the Sylhet region and combine to form the Meghna. Thus, it is rightly feared in Bangladesh that the Tipaimukh project, when constructed, would create devastating conditions for the economy and the environment of the Sylhet region by drying up the Surma and the Kushiara. Not only that, the entire Meghna basin would be affected because low flows in the Surma and the Kushiara will also mean reduced flow of the Meghna as it is fed at present by these two rivers.

Bangladesh officially communicated its objection to the Tipaimukh project some two years ago. Dhaka was visited by India’s water resources minister last year and he promised that India would not take up the project without consulting Bangladesh. A similar pledge was made by the Indian delegation at the Indo-Bangla Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) meeting that followed. But now, the latest news is that the Indian Ministry of Power has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) for the Tipaimukh project and started selling tender papers from Tuesday to start construction works in 78 months.

Therefore, there is no ambiguity about the Indian government acting unilaterally without consulting Bangladesh in the matter which it had promised to do earlier. The Indian government is clearly getting ready to implement the project completely ignoring its earlier assurance to Bangladesh in this regard. But Bangladesh cannot allow the building of another monster-type Farraka project that would threaten its ecology and economy dangerously and extensively. Thus, it is high time for Bangladesh to do everything possible, diplomatically with India, to stop the implementation of the Tipaimukh project. The Bangladesh government should be prepared for anything – including internationalisation of the issue by referring it to the UN or seeking international arbitration – to have this project put on hold if its bilateral pursuit of the objective fails.


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