High Commission of India, Dhaka
January 03, 2006
PRESS RELEASE
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The attention of the High Commission has been drawn to media reports on the discussions held during a seminar organized by the Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA) titled “Large Dams in North East India: Implications for Bangladesh”, on January 2, 2006.
The High Commission wishes to place on record the fact that the decision to undertake a project on the Barak river was taken at the instance of the Government of Bangladesh, during the first meeting of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission, held in June 1972. The 1972 JRC, after taking into cognizance the phenomenon of annual floods which afflict the Sylhet area of Bangladesh as also the adjoining areas in India, had decided to formulate suitable measures which would reduce the “flood damage” in these areas. To this end, the 1972 JRC had “noted that a project for the construction of storage reservoir on the Barak river has been investigated” and “felt that this was a useful project and formulation of this project should be expedited taking into consideration conditions in Bangladesh”.
The project proposal on the River Barak (which becomes the rivers Surma and Kushiara in Bangladesh) was discussed during subsequent JRC meetings, specifically during the 14 th ( January 1978) the 35 th (September 2003) and 36 th JRC (October 2005). During these and related meetings, the Government of India had conveyed that the Tipaimukh Dam is a multipurpose project meant for power generation and flood moderation only. It will not only mitigate the flood problem in the Barak Basin but would also enable regulated releases of water in the lean season to the benefit of both countries. The project has no irrigation component nor is a diversionary structure envisaged at Fulertal. The Indian side had consistently conveyed that particulars of this project would be conveyed, as and when finalized, to the Government of Bangladesh.
A representative of the High Commission had attended the seminar, at the invitation of the organizers, and had presented the aforementioned position. It is surprising that no effort has been made to reflect these views.