Inter Basin Water Transfer Link Project of India

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Siraj decries India's water link plan
It will turn Bangladesh into desert, seminar says

The Daily Star
Staff Correspondent
Mon. March 22, 2004

Environment and Forest Minister Shajahan Siraj said yesterday Bangladeshis at home and abroad must protest the water diversion project of India through inter-linking rivers, as it would 'turn Bangladesh into a desert.'

"It's a question of life and death for us, as the river-linking project, if implemented, will turn our country into a desert," the minister said. He was speaking at a seminar titled 'National Security of Bangladesh: Education and Environment in Perspective,' organised by Bangla-desh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) at its auditorium in the city.

Shajahan blamed what he said was unilateral withdrawal of water by India for the increasing salinity in southwestern Bangladesh including the Sundarbans.

He also told the seminar that the government was determined to achieve a 20 percent tree-coverage in the country by 2020.

In his keynote paper styled 'Environmental Security: The Context of Bangladesh,' North South Univer-sity Department of Environmental Studies Chairman Mizan R Khan said the Indian river-linking project would turn Bangladesh's northern area into a desert and accelerate siltation in its southern region.

"India has ignored the regional consequences of its river-linking project, which will affect not only Bangladesh but also Bhutan and Nepal," Dr Khan alleged.

He suggested that the government adopt a foreign policy so that Bangladesh could resolve environmental issues through diplomacy.

Taking part in the discussion, International Union for Conser-vation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh Country Representative Ainun Nishat criticised the political parties for their lack of commitment to environmental causes.

He said, "In order to check environmental degradation, environmental issues have to be closely incorporated into the government's planning process."

BIISS Chairman Ambassador Mufleh R Osmani presided over the session, where Major General (Rtd) Abdul Mubeen Chowdhury delivered the address of welcome and South East University Vice-Chancellor (VC) Shamsher Ali presented the keynote paper on education, the second theme of the seminar.

Shamsher Ali underscored education in English as a second language to enable Bangladeshis secure more foreign jobs.

Labelling the recruitment process of teachers in the public universities as politically biased, he said, "The authorities are choosing voters rather than teachers causing major hindrance to proper higher education."

Ali also suggested for changing the election process of deans and VCs in the public universities.

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