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News From
Bangladesh News Paper
Int’l confce against India’s river-linking plan in Dec
New Age
Staff Correspondent
Sun, April 04, 2004
Water experts and environmentalists from home and
abroad, non-resident Bangladeshis, politicians, government policymakers and
NGO activists are expected to attend an international conference in Dhaka
between December 17 and 19 to voice their opposition to India’s
river-linking project.
The Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan, Bangladesh Environment Network, the
Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh Economic Association, Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology and Dhaka University will jointly
organise the conference on ‘Regional Cooperation on Trans-boundary Rivers:
Impact of the Indian River-linking Project’.
“We must protest against the project that will deprive Bangladesh of its due
share of water of international rivers,” said Professor Jamilur Reza
Choudhury, chairman of the Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan, while briefing the
media about the schedule and objective of the conference.
“We are organising the conference to discuss the socio-economic,
environmental and political impacts of such an anti-people project and to
convey our message to people and the international community.”
Jamil was critical of the Indian government for ‘trying to say that the
project is still in a conceptual stage’ while announcing at the same time
that ‘it will be implemented on war footing’.
He referred to the recently announced statement of the Bharatiya Janata
Party that says the BJP will implement the project if it is voted to power
in the national elections.
Also, he said, it was reported that India had already completed feasibility
study for eight out of the 30 links of the project.
“In such a context, we need to prepare ourselves and pinpoint the probable
negative impacts of the project.”
BEA president Dr Qazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmad, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage
Authority managing director ANH Akhter Hossain, IEB chairman Quamrul Islam
Siddiqui, Dr Mahmudur Rahman of BEN’s, Professor Feroze Ahmed of BUET and Dr
Abdul Matin of BAPA also addressed the news conference.
Quamrul, also chairman of the South Asia Water Partnership, criticised India
for ignoring the interest of co-riparian countries.
India has already convinced different international money-lending agencies
and other institutions working on water issues that implementation of the
project will help alleviate poverty to a large extent, he said.
Akhter termed the issue “a threat to national security”.
He was critical of India for trying to give the impression that through the
mega-project it will just withdraw floodwater, ‘reducing flood risk in lower
riparian Bangladesh’.
He said if the project was implemented, more than 60 per cent of the
components of Bangladesh’s national water management plan would lose their
importance.
Source:
New Age.
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