Water minister welcomes 'Tipai debate'

Dhaka, Aug 9 (bdnews24.com)—State minister for water resources Mahbubur Rahman said on Sunday the government welcomed healthy public debate on India's planned Tipaimukh Dam.

Singling out a long-march, which began on Saturday from Dhaka to Sylhet, he said such public initiatives would show India how Bangladesh felt about the contentious project.

"The long-march is mobilising public opinion against the planned dam's construction," Rahman told reporters at the secretariat.

The 'Tipaimukh Dam Resistance Committee' and Sylhet Bibhag Unnayan Parishad set out on the long-march from the Shaheed Minar in the capital on Saturday. It is scheduled to end on Aug 10 at Jakiganj in Sylhet.

Rahman, however, said the planned dam, in India's north-eastern state of Manipur, was "not a big problem" for Bangladesh, and all issues surrounding it would be resolved through dialogue with India.

A parliamentary standing committee went to India on July 29 to meet with Indian foreign and energy ministers and visit the site of the proposed project, but failed to land at the site due to bad weather.

Rahman said separate delegations, led by both ministers and secretaries, will also travel to India to hold talks on the issue.

"There should be no playing of party politics over this issue, and if anyone tries to politicise the issue the people will see through it," said Rahman.

He added that the prime minister was sincere in her efforts to resolve the issue.

India's proposed dam at Timaimukh is slated to cross the Barak River, which enters into Bangladesh as the Surma and Kushiara rivers. The two rivers are lifeline for hundreds of water bodies in the greater Sylhet region of Bangladesh.

India, however, has repeatedly said the dam is solely a hydro-electric project and would not withhold water, but environmentalists and the people of Bangladesh, as well as Manipur state, remain concerned over the probable impact of the projected dam in vulnerable downstream areas.

bdnews24.com/mk/zr/am/2125h