Indian HC’s comment rejected
Staff Correspondent
Left-leaning political parties and social organisations on Wednesday rejected the comment of the Indian high commissioner who said that the Tipaimukh dam would not harm Bangladesh.They also blasted the government’s ministers for extending their ‘irresponsible support’ to the comments of High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty.
‘In the light of general knowledge and technical expertise, the Indian high commissioner’s comment that the Tipaimukh dam won’t harm Bangladesh is not acceptable,’ said the president of the Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal, Khalekuzzaman, in a statement.
‘It should be thoroughly looked into whether the Indian high commissioner made the comment with a certain intention or because of lack of knowledge,’ he said.
He said that if the dam was constructed the water flow of the Surma and Kushiara rivers in Bangladesh would be reduced drastically in the winter and there would be flood during monsoon when the gates of the dam would be opened. Khalekuzzaman said that 16 districts in the country are already facing desertification because of the Farakka Barrage and seven north-eastern districts would also face desertification if the Tipaimukh dam was built over the Barak, which is a cross-boundary river. ‘If we listen to the government’s policymakers it seems that they have become convinced by the Indian high commissioner, which is comparable to irresponsibility,’ he said.
He asked the government to call upon the Indian government to stop construction of the dam, otherwise they would go for a movement. Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s president ASM Rab at a meeting alleged that the Bangladesh government was wasting time in stopping India from construct the Tipaimukh dam and demarcating the country’s maritime boundary. Bangladesh Biplobi Workers Party’s president Khandaker Ali Abbas and Saiful Haque said that the Indian high commissioner was trying to conceal the truth by saying that the dam would not harm Bangladesh.
They demanded rigorous inspection of the dam’s site by a team comprising technical experts, politicians and journalists. The Sylhet Division Development Action Council’s leaders at a protest meeting in Muktangon demanded expulsion of Pinak from Bangladesh for his ‘blatant lies’.
They also demanded removal of water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen and shipping minister Afsarul Amin, who had said that India had assured them that the dam would have no adverse effects on Bangladesh, from the cabinet. The council’s president, Abed Raza, and members Syed Khalilur Rahman, MA Khan, Saiful Faruki and Ehsanul Jasim spoke on the occasion. Another organisation, Amra Bangladeshi, also protested against the two minister’s comments on the effects of Tipaimukh dam.
http://www.newagebd.com/2009/may/21/front.html#7
