Indian river-linking
�Project threat to Bangladesh ecology�
Experts yesterday said Bangladesh will have to face disastrous consequences, including environmental degradation, and a threat to geographical existence and peoples livelihoods, if India constructs 16 new barrages and dams in the upstream of the river Ganga.They also hailed the government for issuing a note verbal to India, protesting against the neighbouring countrys initiative for construction of interlinking river projects in the upstream.
The views came at a view-exchange programme, organised by the International Farakka Committee (IFC), on Indian inter-linking river project: Water disaster in Bangladesh and action at Jatiya Press Club yesterday.
Former vice chancellor of Jahangirnagar University Prof Jasim Uddin Ahmed, member of the political bureau of CPB Haider Akbar Khan Rono, DU professor AKM Fazlul Haque, IFC general secretary (Bangladesh chapter) Syed Irfanul Bari, BUET professor Sabbir Mostafa Khan and IFC coordinator Mostafa Kamal Majumder also spoke on the occasion.
IFC chairman (New York) Atikur Rahman Salu chaired the programme, while former UN official on water Dr SI Khan presented a keynote paper on Water aggression in the upstream and Bangladeshs disaster.
The experts said water is managed on the basis of basins keeping enough water to protect rivers across the world. They urged the government to remind the Indian authorities for fair share of water.
If India tries to ignore it, Bangladesh should raise the issue in the 6th committee of the United Nations to solve the problem, they opined.
In his presentation, SI Khan said that New Delhi has taken up a grand plan of linking rivers, mostly rivers from the Himalayas, across the country, and announced that it will be connecting Manas-Sankosh-Teesta-Ganga in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar, which will seriously affect Bangladeshs ecology, environment and livelihoods of the people.
