Pinaki Roy
Experts and environmentalists in India have expressed concern over the possible impact of the Tipaimukh dam on the ecology of Bangladesh and of the Indian state of Manipur.
Their concerns find an echo in the fears expressed by Bangladeshi experts and environmentalists.
Indian experts say if the dam is built in an earthquake-prone zone like Manipur, it might end in failure, causing disaster for Bangladesh downstream.
In articles posted on different websites, they said the project could be the cause of an ecological disaster.
Bangladesh will send a delegation to India in a week's time to discuss the issue as the neighbouring country has moved to form a company in order to build the dam unilaterally.
Bangladesh sent a letter to India on Thursday on its desire for a meeting, but it is yet to form its delegation to the talks, said a high government official who asked not to be named.
Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen said the matter would be taken to the International Court, if necessary.
"We will go to the International Court to settle the Tipaimukh issue, if necessary," the minister told a programme yesterday.
Experts fear the Tipaimukh dam that India plans to build on the Barak River will cause havoc on the ecology. The river originating from the Manipur Hills flows westward through Mizoram and Assam, and meets the Meghna in Sylhet in Bangladesh.
Despite India's assurance that the dam would not cause any harm to Bangladesh, the issue has long been causing worried among the people of Bangladesh as well as of the Indian state of Manipur.
India argues that it is only a hydroelectric power project and will not divert water.
Different blogs and websites are flooded with opinions of noted Indian experts expressing concern over the Tipaimukh dam.
Asia Security Initiative, a blog, quoted Himansu Thakkar, editor of Dams, Rivers and People, India, as saying that even a hydroelectric project like the one in Tipaimukh could have pretty serious downstream impacts.
The fear of serious downstream impact is well founded, but the nature and quantum would depend on many factors, including the way the dam is operated, he said.
In an article, Ramananda Wangkheirakpam, coordinator of Citizen's Concern for Dams and Development in India, said one fear from Northeast India is that the construction of the Tipaimukh dam could result in an environment-induced migration from Bangladesh.
Soibam Ibotombi Singh, associate professor of the Department of Earth Sciences at Manipur University in India, said Manipur has a seismically active and tectonically young mountain chain and construction of large dams is practically dangerous.
"There could be frightening disasters killing thousands of people downstream, including Bangladesh due to failure of Tipaimukh dam,” he said.
"So there are ample valid reasons to be worried," he said referring to concerns raised by Bangladeshi experts.
In an article, “Straight talk on Barak”, published in the Indian Express in August,
2009, the newspaper's former editor BG Verghese said, "Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable and has more to lose from non-cooperation and in hardening negative mindsets."