Bangladesh and India: Will the Dams “Damage “the Relationship?
Environmentalists and academics called for a greater movement at national and international levels to resist what they said “India’s conspiracy” to construct Tipaimukh dam without sharing information with Bangladesh. They also slammed the government’s role in dealing with India about water issues. India has neither ensured water flow in the Ganges as per the Ganges Treaty nor shared information about Tipaimukh Dam, which is sheer violation of the treaty.( The Daily Star,July08,2009).
Remonstrance over the Farakka Barrage , first in 1965 , led to Indo-Pak war, but in 1975, Bangladesh in good faith , agreed to allow its friend, India to “ test-run “ its feeder canal for fourteen days only. India guaranteed Bangladesh that actual operation will commence after an agreement is signed detailing terms of operation and share of water. Rest is a history of non-compliance from India, resulting in desertification of many rivers inside Bangladesh. Next is India’s move to construct the Tipaimukh Dam ignoring strong protest from Manipur, as well as Bangladesh as it threatens the North-East section part of the Country. Isn’t both, faith and friendship, being compromised?
So why is India so obsessed with its Dam projects? In April 2001 David Barsamian,Director of Alternative Radio in Boulder, Colorado interviewed Arundhati Roy and here is what she said, “the myth of big dams is something that’s sold to us from the time we’re three years old in every school textbook. Nehru said, “Dams are the temples of modern India”, the dam will serve you breakfast in bed, it will get your daughter married and cure your