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Old July 15, 2009, 08:36 PM
One World One World is offline
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Quote:
No anti-bilateral steps for Tipai dam

Priyo News Dhaka, Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 1:56am Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday assured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that New Delhi would not take any step regarding their planned Tipaimukh Dam that might affect the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday talks to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Egypt. Photo: PID

Hasina informed journalists accompanying her of the outcome of her meeting with Singh on the sidelines of the 15th Non-Aligned Movement Summit, reports UNB from Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Hasina said the friendly relations between the two countries would remain unaffected and the two countries would move forward maintaining their own dignities.
The prime minister had the meeting with her Indian counterpart at Jolie Ville Golf Resort meeting room on the sidelines of the NAM summit, mainly discussing issues of bilateral interest. The meeting took place at a time when there have been controversies in Bangladesh over the Tipaimukh dam planned by India on the common river Borak.
After the meeting with Manmohan, Hasina also had bilateral meetings with Chairman of Sate Council of Oman Yahya Mahood Al Moudhry and Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Jordanian Prime Minister Nader AL Tahavi also had a bilateral meeting with Hasina when they discussed matters of mutual interest.
-Daily Star
Renewable that’s what hydroelectric power does, that’s the gift we receive from Kaptai, an environment friendly approach to generate energy. In terms of greenhouse effect and waste management it is much appreciable approach for an environmental scientist. Research has shown that there are drastic results caused by such dams likewise, flow rate changes, habitat conditions based on life cycles including human, and some long term effects if there are other projects nearby (which might be in another country, state up or downstream). The most common effects that are inevitable which is already experienced from Farakka are supersaturation, sedimentation, water level changes and increased erosion. Certain wildlife and fish species go down to extinction due to the adversity of such approach if not taken careful consideration to feed in and produce a check and balance which is very unlikely in an underdeveloped region. The possible man made post-conditions that may further ruin the fruition are worse irrigation may cause reduction in cultivation or change the cultivation cycle making the farmer more dependent on chemicals, loss of riparian zone (which we are most afraid of) causing traditional occupation of nearby habitat totally morphed into tropical opportunity based affecting the socio-economic condition causing new introduction of outsiders, and while it could be a blessing in a developed country can contribute to quite opposite which is most likely in the said region.

At NAM conference in Egypt the Prime Minister met the neighboring country chief to hear some satisfactory promises so she can sweeten her ears and let the reporters know to spread it allover the world that “yes, they decided not to do anything which will harm Bangladesh”. How many times we have heard such nonsense? It has been proven fact that such hopeful words fly away into the reality of the life of the millions that get affected. The dam is a huge 1.35 billion USD project which is even criticized by the North Indian elite civilians,

Few examples:

Quote:
From India Namdingpou Kamei at E-Pao lists the losses and destruction this dam will bring to the local people.
# A total area of land 286.20 sq. km will be submerged forever.
# Barak waterfalls and Zeilad Lake, which are connected with the history of the Zeliangrong people, will be forever underwater and all folklores and legends will have no monuments' proof and it will become a make up story for the next generation.
# More than, 40,000 people will be rendered landless.
# Eight villages situated at the Barak Valley will be completely underwater.
# More than 90 villages mostly of Tamenglong district will be adversely affected.
# About 27,242 hectares of cultivable land will be lost. [..]

The Indian government has offered the Manipur state 10% free electricity (i.e. 40 MW) from the project in exchange of above.
The Hmar indigenous population of North East India fears that:
if the government plows ahead with its proposed dam “thousands of outsiders” will come to settle in the area and as a result the Hmars will be exposed to changes like never before to new culture, economy and politics.

Dr. Soibam Ibotombi of Dept. of Earth Sciences, Manipur University says that the dam will be a geo-tectonic blunder of international dimensions:
The site selected for Tipaimukh project is one of the most active in the entire world, recording at least two major earthquakes of 8+ in the Reichter Scale during the past 50 years. The proposed Tipaimukh HEP is envisaged for construction in one of the most geologically unstable area as the proposed Tipaimukh dam axis falls on a ‘fault line’ potentially active and possible epicenter for major earthquakes.
Well with all my respect to the neighboring chief, I would say he is not the one who is going to analyse, supervise, decide or ask make shift whenever needed. The original designers, architects, engineers and local politicians are the main motivators who would be supervising this. Now it seems they are determined to build this and when they build this they would not do anything harmful to Bangladesh, then definitely somehow it will harm them. Who in the world does that?

The parliamentary committee is about to visit the site and as soon they agreed to it and after today’s meeting I only see another Farakka is looming in the forehead of BD which would be coming in with effects in detriment in a geometrical ratio compared to current solemnity under the Hardinge bridge.
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Last edited by One World; July 15, 2009 at 08:41 PM.. Reason: Source added
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