Tipaimukh Dam:India to allay Dhaka’s concerns

Ashok Tuteja
New Delhi, August 30


As Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni prepares to fly down to India early next month, the Tipaimukh Hydroelectric Dam Project has become a bone of contention between the two countries, threatening to sour bilateral ties. Located near the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers in Manipur, the project has sharply divided civil society groups, environmentalists, human rights organisations and the media in Bangladesh over its implications on the share of water flowing from upper riparian India.

The Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is hell bent upon exploiting the situation to the hilt by fanning anti-India sentiments. Recently BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia, who was perceived to have an anti-India bias even when she was the Prime Minister, even refused to nominate her party colleagues on a team of Parliamentarians and water experts which visited the dam site in India last month.

The recent comments of Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty ridiculing suggestions in Dhaka that the project could harm Bangladesh’s interests had almost kicked up a row between India and Bangladesh. Thanks to the excellent relations that India enjoys with the Sheikh Khaleda Government, the controversy over his remarks was allowed to die down. Indian officials said Dhaka’s apprehensions on the dam project were entirely misplaced. They contended that the project provided a ‘win-win’ situation for both India and Bangladesh.

A deliberate and motivated campaign had been launched by vested interests against the project in Bangladesh. ‘’We have furnished data and views of experts to Dhaka explaining how the project would be beneficial for both the countries…it would still be our endeavour to remove doubts that still exist in the mind of the Bangladesh leadership,’’ official sources said..

They recalled that the Bangladeshi team which had visited India last month was briefed on how the project would help control floods in Bangladesh and provide it with more irrigation facilities. Dipu Moni’s visit, the first intense high-level contact between the two governments after the UPA began its second innings at the helm of affairs in New Delhi in May, would also provide an opportunity to the two countries to review the entire range of bilateral issues, the threat from terrorism to the South Asian region and international developments.

It is also being seen as a visit preparatory to the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s tour of India later this year. In the context of terrorism, India is likely to once again ask Dhaka to deport ULFA chief Anup Chetia and other militants belonging to the outlawed outfit who are in Bangladesh. New Delhi has made this request to Dhaka on several occasions in the past but in vain. Now that a ‘friendly’ government is in place in Bangladesh, India is hopeful that Chetia’s extradition to India could be a possibility.

New Delhi is also encouraged by some of the steps taken by Bangladesh in recent months to check the activities of anti-India elements operating from its soil. Bangladesh had last month arrested two Indian militants, who had been hiding there for 15 years, in a span of one week.

What is more, Bangladeshi security forces are said to be hot on trail of 3-4 more Indians who have been choreographing terror attacks against India from the Bangladeshi territory. Bangladesh had, in fact, from time to time, proposed a joint task force to combat terrorism in South Asia.

The proposal could again be on the agenda between the two countries. However, the increasing activities of Pakistan’s ISI are a matter of concern to New Delhi, which might be prompted to take it up with Dhaka during Moni’s visit. On the economic side, India and Bangladesh are trying to settle their differences in a variety of areas, including commerce, power and railways.


Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090831/main6.htm

Tipaimukh Dam: A Hazard for Bangladesh

Mamoona Ali Kazmi


The Indo-Bangladesh relations have never been cordial. Regrettably, India’s expansionist policy in the region and anti-Bangladesh propaganda continued unabated. In Bangladesh, India is viewed as a bully, throwing its weight around and threatening the sovereignty of its smaller neighbors.

There are several issues between the two countries, which are of grave concern for Bangladesh. These include water issue, land issue, fencing of border, Indian support to Chakma community, killing of innocent civilians by BSF, subversive activities by India’s intelligence wings, Bangladesh’s high profile criminals taking asylum in India, smuggling from India etc.

Most important issue that mars bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh is water. Most of the rivers, which Bangladesh shares with India are controlled and managed by India. It has evolved plans to divert waters, from the northeast of the country to its drought prone west and south, of some 54 rivers which flow from India to Bangladesh.

India’s construction of dams or barrages on the common rivers one after the other not only violates international law regarding common rivers but also threatens the norms of good neighbourliness and the livelihood of the people of Bangladesh. After building Farraka and Teesta barrages, India has started construction of the Tipaimukh dam on river Barack just a kilometer north of Jakiganj in Sylhet. The construction work of Tipaimukh dam was stalled in March 2007 in the face of protests within and outside India for not following the international conventions about the international rivers. Linked to this dam is the Fulertal barrage.

To be located 500 meters downstream from the flowing rivers of the Barack and Tuovai rivers, the Tipaimukh dam lies on the south western corner of the Manipur state of India. Its reservoir will have a water storage capacity of 15,900 million cubic meters with a maximum depth of 1,725.5 meters. The dam and barrage when completed in 2012 are supposed to provide 1500 megawatts of hydel power to the Indian state of Assam but in return its going to bring about a major disaster for Bangladesh, practically contributing to drying up of 350 km long Surma and 110 km long Kushiara rivers which water most of the northeastern region of Bangladesh.

The Tipaimukh barrage is going to seriously affect not only agriculture in large portions of Bangladesh, particularly in winter, but is also gong to bring about negative ecological, climatic and environmental changes in vast areas of Bangladesh. Education Minister of India Nurul Islam Nahid said, “If India withdraws water from the Barack River, the free flowing Surma and Kushiara rivers will dry up”.

Surma-Kushiara and its 60 tributaries support agriculture, irrigation, navigation, drinking water supply, fisheries, wildlife in numerous areas in the entire Sylhet division and some peripheral areas of Dhaka division. So around five crore people in Sylhet and Dhaka division will face problems as Surma and Kushiara will lose five feet water in the rainy season. Abdul Karim Kim, an organizer of the Sylhet Paribesh Andolon feels that besides other parts of Bangladesh, Sylhet will be gravely affected.

“The dam completion will disrupt agriculture, irrigation, navigation, drinking water supply and ground water levels. Sylhet will face the same consequences faced by the south western region of Bangladesh”.

A Water resources expert, Professor Mustafizur Rahman Tarafdar discussed the ill effects of the Tipaimukh dam. He said, “If this dam is eventually constructed as intended, Bangladesh would have to suffer the adverse effects. This dam would lead to hydrological drought and environmental degradation.

This dam would cause the Surma and Kushiara to run dry during November to May which would eventually hamper agriculture, irrigation, navigation, shortage of supply of drinking water, etc. This shortage of water in these months would decrease the boost of ground water which over the years would lower the ground water level, which in turn would affect all dug outs and shallow tube-wells. Agriculture, which is dependent on both surface as well as ground water, would also be affected.

Also, any interference in the normal flow of water in the Barack would have an adverse effect on the Surma in Bangladesh that, in turn, feeds the mighty Meghna that flows through Bangladesh. Arable land will decrease and production of crops will fall, leading to an increase in poverty. Roughly 7 to 8 percent of total water of Bangladesh is obtained from the Barack.

Millions of people are dependent on hundreds of water bodies fed by Barack in the Sylhet region for fishing and agricultural activities. A dam-break is a catastrophic failure of a dam which results in the sudden draining of the reservoir and a severe flood wave that causes destruction and in many cases death downstream. If the Tipaimukh dam were to break, impounding billions of cubic meters of water, it will cause catastrophic floods because of its colossal structure”.

India never bothered to discuss the matter of the Tipaimukh dam with Bangladesh. The Tipaimukh Dam project was entirely developed and approved without informing the government of Bangladesh or involving its people in any meaningful exercise to assess the downstream impacts of the dam. Since the river Barack is an international river, Bangladesh as a lower riparian country should have an equitable share of water.

Moreover an access to the design details of the project, planning and design etc also is a right of the country. Mir Sajjad Hossain, member of Joint River Commission (JRC) said, “We do not know what is going on there. We came to know from our sources that India is panning a hydroelectric plant. India has not sent any official documents about the proposal”. This is clearly a gross violation of co-riparian rights of Bangladesh. India has violated provisions of the 1997 UN Watercourse Convention on the Article 5 (1) Equitable Utilization, (7) No Harm Principle, (9) Exchange of Information.

According to International Law, it is illegal to construct any dam on an international river without consent from the other side. But India has violated it by starting the construction of Tipaimukh Dam on the Barack. Unilateral water diversion, or withdrawal of water from international or common rivers, has been the long standing policy of India. India has seldom bothered to think about the impact of such policies on a low riparian country, such as Bangladesh, in diverting water from common rivers. The high commissioner of India Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty to Bangladesh admitted that the Indian government has resumed the process of construction once again from the end of 2008.

According to Chakravarty the dam would produce hydroelectricity and would not harm Bangladesh in any way. It would only regulate the rivers’ flow. As it is a project aimed at producing hydroelectricity, no water would be withheld from Bangladesh. But this is not as simple as said by Chakravarty as to produce electricity the water flow would have to be obstructed which means that there will be less flow of water to the riparian neighbouring country.

Furthermore, Chakravarty also stated that the water will not be used for irrigation purposes. Where as according to sources the original plan of India is to supply water to the areas of Rajasthan and other states from Barack River, around 900 km away from the Manipur state. How can the people of Bangladesh trust that India’s Tipaimukh dam will not do any harm to them when they have been suffering numerous environmental disasters for the last 35 years due to the barrages, in the upstreams of the Ganges and the Teesta, built by India?

India is withdrawing waters of almost all the common rivers by building dams on the upstream, which will eventually cause Bangladesh to turn into a desert. India’s lack of sensitivity to the neighbours does not speak of friendly act by a friendly country. By constructing Tipaimukh dam India is only looking its own interest. India wants to control the water flow to facilitate irrigation of the Cacher plain. India should not be insensitive to the environmental and the negative consequences of the Tipaimukh dam on the lower riparian Bangladesh.

People urged to join movement against Tipaimukh dam

Staff Reporter
August 30, 2009


Leaders of National Tipaimukh Dam Resistance Committee at a discussion yesterday stressed the need for spontaneous participation of the people in the movement against the construction of Tipaimukh dam by India.

They called upon the people to remain alert on the issue so that the Indian government could not construct the dam on Borak River. If India constructs the dam, the north-eastern region of the country would turn into a desert, they said.

The discussion was held at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the city as a part of observance of 'Global Solidarity Sit-in Tipaimukh Dam Programme'.

The programme was also observed in the day in different district headquarters of the country and cities of the world including Shilchar, Calcutta and Patna of India, Canberra of Australia, Tokyo of Japan and New York of America.

Coordinator of the committee Engineer Mohammad Hilal Uddin moderated the discussion while convener of Governance Coalition Mohsin Ali, chairman of Supra Abdul Awal, leader of INCIDIN Bangladesh Shafikul Ahsan, executive director of Chalanbeel Uddyag Abdur Rasid Sabuj, president of Women Trade Union Shahida Parveen Shikha, among others participated.

Referring to 50 large dams in the world, Engineer Hilal said that a 'water syndicate' is now active to build more dams on big rivers to serve their own interests. "Such immoral activities of the syndicate have also con tributed to global climate change," he said.

Indian renowned journalist Shankar Roy and veteran leader of Tipaimukh dam issue in India Engineer Dinesh Mitra expressed solidarity with the participants of the programme.

Source: http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/08/30/news0997.htm

Dhaka's concern must be addressed: Indian minister says on Tipaimukh project

Tawfique Ali, from New Delhi



India should address Bangladesh's concerns over the proposed Tipaimukh Dam on the river Barak, said Indian State Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh during an interaction with reporters at a regional workshop yesterday.

"Bangladesh's concerns over the proposed Tipaimukh Dam are quite obvious and they must be addressed," said Ramesh on the second day of a two-day South Asia Media Briefing on climate change organised by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Journalists from seven south Asian countries took part in the workshop.

Replying to a query during the question-answer session, Ramesh said, "We are ready to address the concerns over the proposed dam."

Three consecutive prime ministers of India had laid down the foundation stones of this project since 1996, but it is yet to be realised, he said.

Asked if the project exists, the Indian minister said, "The project does exist but not the dam."

JM Mauskar, additional secretary to the environment and forests ministry of India, said the clearance for the project on environmental ground was given after a 'drill' on the project.

"We have put the assessment on environmental impact and environmental management study on website," he added.

MoU to be inked soon over Tipaimukh Dam

Imphal, August 26 2009



To give wings for the construction of the controversy ridden Tipaimukh dam, a tripartite MoU is set to be signed soon, even as the Bangladesh team, which had to abort its plan to visit the dam site earlier, is set to visit it in November this year.

The MoU will be signed between the NHPC, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and the State Government at Imphal very soon, probably within the next few days, said a top official of the State Power Department today.

The initiative has been necessitated following the decision to axe the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), as the implementing agency for the project.

Once the MoU is signed, it will be forwarded to the Central Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for a go ahead signal to construct the Dam, after the clearance from the Forest Department is obtained, said the official.

NHPC will hold the biggest share of the joint venture with 69 percent with SJVN holding 26 percent.

The State Govt's share will be the remaining five percent, said the official further.

The total estimated cost of the 1500 MW project has been pegged at Rs 8139 crores including the compensation to be paid to the affected people.

The Bangladesh team had to abort their visit to the dam site on July 31 and on August 1 due to the inclement weather, said the official and added that they are now scheduled to visit the site in November this year.

The team will assess whether the proposed dam on the Barak river will affect the flow of water to their country or not.

Dam opponents in Bangladesh are contending that it will cause large damage to the ecology and reduce the water share from the Barak, which flows into the Surma river in their country.

Anti-dam lobbyists have also been opposing the proposal to build the dam on the ground that it will submerge over 90 villages, besides a large chunk of forest land and arable land.

There is scope to stop India from building the dam: DR. ASIF NAZRUL

Dr Asif Nazrul, professor of law at Dhaka University who did his PhD in international Watercourse Law from SOAS, University of London, explains to Konka Karim why it is important to register a protest over the Tipaimukh Dam at the international level.

We hear a lot of conflicting reports about what effects the Tipaimukh Dam will have on Bangladesh. Some say that the Surma, Kushiara and eventually the Meghna rivers will dry up turning northeastern Bangladesh into a desert. Others say, that hydroelectric power generation will actually benefit Bangladesh. How do you see the effects?

As reflected in various reports of the International Commission on Dam, whenever there is a huge intervention like the Tipaimukh project with the natural flow of a river, it will have disastrous impacts, particularly in the downstream areas. No matter what some people are saying, like we will get water during the dry season or the flood would be mitigated, the fact is, biodiversity in the riverine areas in Bangladesh is so sensitive that it would surely be adversely affected by any mega project in a shared river. Furthermore, since the project would be located in a highly seismic zone, the risk is much more grave.

Tipaimukh, no doubt, might have certain benefits but the injuries easily outweigh the benefits. But in order to be precise in our assessment as to the benefits and risks of the project we need to have all the data and information concerning the project. But India is yet to provide us with the project papers and other relevant information.

So, we have every reason to be suspicious. Take the example of Farakka. In 1976, while speaking at the UN general assembly, the Indian representative clearly stated that Farakka is not going to make Bangladesh suffer and whatever minor effect it will have could be remedied. Well, we all saw what economic and environmental impact the Farakka had on us.

The Indian government has told the Bangladesh government that the Tipaimukh dam will only be used for hydroelectric power generation and yet on their website they indicate to the Fulertala Barrage which will be used to retain diverted water.

Exactly. During the first proposal for the Tipaimukh dam in 1978 as well as the second one in 1983, they mention the Fulertala Barrage. In the NEEPCO website, the site for the Fulertala barrage is clearly indicated.

During the last meeting of the Joint River Commission in 2005, the Bangladesh delegation categorically asked whether the Indian government would construct any barrage at Fulertol to divert the water stored at Tipaimukh for irrigation purposes. They answered no. When they were asked whether they would construct the barrage at any other place in Manipur, they said they would answer it in the next meeting. That answer never came.

The Indians have been saying that there will be no barrage but their written literature like the NEEPCO website suggests otherwise. We need a written assurance from India that they are not going to construct any barrage at Fulertol or elsewhere. In fact Article IX of the 1996 water-sharing treaty clearly stipulates that Bangladesh and India will enter into agreement in relation to the utilisation of the waters of the shared rivers by complying with the principle of equity, fairness and no-harm. What they have been doing unilaterally with Tipaimukh is already a violation of the treaty.

If they can assure us verbally, why can’t they have a written agreement with us which would clearly state all the details on how we will benefit from the dam, how much water would be released in every day of a year and what compensation we will receive in the case of an accident or dam failure!

We signed a water-sharing treaty over Farakka years after the dam had been built. Do you think the Indian government intends to do the same?

That was 1969, this is 2009. At that time there was no water sharing agreement with India, today there is i.e. the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty. Our water sharing treaty expires in 2026 and until then, India has a treaty obligation to share all information with us. What India is doing now is a clear violation of Article 9 of the Ganges Water Treaty.

The construction of Tipaimukh Dam is also a clear violation of international customary law as it has been embodied in the UN Watercourses Convention of 1997. This is where the recent controversy regarding the remarks of Indian high commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakrabarty comes in. Pinak pointed that since the convention did not enter into force, it was not applicable. However, we have to understand that this treaty is a product of International Law Commission(ILC). The international court of justice in a number of cases valued the convention ILC had produced as evidence of embodiment of international customary law.


Is there any scope of taking the Tipaimukh issue to the international court?


Of course there is. Bangladesh and India are party to a number of international environmental agreements and raising the issue on these podiums will create an outcry.

Take for example the 1992 Biodiversity Convention. Article 5 of this convention stipulates that no country will undertake any measure which will seriously affect the biodiversity of another country. If the natural flow of water of Surma and Kushiara is affected, it will have immense effect on the animal and plant life of the region. To give a simple example, if you do not provide water to a human being for three days and then suddenly give him 10 glasses on the fourth day, imagine the impact of it? Plants and animals are generally more sensitive than humans not to mention micro organisms who can be affected in an hour. All those issues can be raised in the conference of the parties to the biodiversity convention and also in various committees established by the convention.

There is the Kyoto Protocol. Studies have proven that storing a huge amount of water like the proposed Tipaimukh Dam would contribute to global warming. Then there is the 1972 World Heritage Convention according to which, Sundarbans is a world heritage. That the increasing salinity in the water will affect a world heritage site is contradictory to the convention. In addition, there is the UN General Assembly through which you can capture the international headlines. But before internationalising the issue, Bangladesh must try its best to resolve the matter bilaterally.


Is there any real scope of holding them back from building the Tipaimukh?

Of course there is. Times have changed. You see, rivers such as Borak and Brahmaputra have their origin in China. If China one day wants to build dams on those rivers, which they obviously eventually will to generate power, on what moral grounds will India stop them? They will have no logical stand. We can play the environment card and we can play the China card. But most importantly, even if we can’t stop them we have to ensure that we have registered our protests very strongly, because they will remain as references in the future. This is exactly what India does not want us to do.

How would you assess the new Bangladesh government’s reaction to the Tipaimukh issue?

So far, the reaction has not been inspiring. Some of the ministers and parliamentarians appear to be suffering from India-phobia. There is also a serious lack of expertise in the government rank. The government seems to have totally failed to understand their strengths – the legal position, the global scenario and the fact that India cannot just unilaterally construct the dam. Because if they do it unilaterally, that would validate China’s future unilateral projects on the same rivers. The government has to properly assess the comprehensive picture, strengthen forums like JRC by appointing experts as its honorary members, beef up its negotiating skill by consulting all the concerned experts and provide people with genuine information so that people do not get confused and suspicious of the government’s performance on this issue. These are doable. You just need a change in the mind-set and a bit more smartness.

source: The New Age Xtra

Bangla seeks more technical info from India on Tipaimukh dam

Anisur Rahman


Ahead of Foreign Minister Dipu Moni&aposs maiden official visit to India, Bangladesh has said it has sought more technical information from New Delhi on the cross- border Tipaimukh dam, which it considered an"important"and"urgent"matter along with the maritime boundary issue.

"We have several issues with neighbours. We want to settle them on a win-win basis as neighbours are constant and relations should be on constant basis through continued engagements," Foreign Secretary Mizarul Quayes said at his first press conference yesterday after assuming office.

On the Tipaimukh dam in Manipur, he said Dhaka has sought more technical information from New Delhi on the hydro-electric project.

Bangladesh&aposs main opposition BNP has objected to the cross-border dam and demanded that the project be scrapped.

Quayes categorised the issues of maritime boundary with New Delhi and Yangon and the Tipaimukh dam as"important"and"urgent".

He said the report of the Bangladeshi parliamentary delegation, which visited the site of the Tipaimukh dam on the common Barak River, was being examined by experts.

He said talks on the maritime boundary with both Yangon and New Delhi were underway, noting that the issue involved"sensitivity on both sides".