India, Bangladesh and Tipaimukh Dam
17 Aug, 2009 · 2945
Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman emphasizes the importance of water-sharing issues for improved bilateral ties
The Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydroelectric Dam Project which was commissioned by India in the year 2006, has been in the news recently as concerns have been raised by the Bangladesh government as well as civil society and environmental groups both in India and Bangladesh, over the impact of the dam on the region. The dam project had been on the drawing board for a long time until the project was awarded to North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) in 2003, only to be replaced by the state-owned National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC) in July 2009 (due to the concerns of the Manipur state government over NEEPCO).
The Tipaimukh Dam is located near the confluence of the Barak and the Tuivai rivers in the Tipaimukh sub-division of the Churachandpur district of Manipur. This area is close to the Manipur-Mizoram-Assam border, and therefore the project involves the three states in Northeast India. The Barak river which flows downstream to meet the Surma river system in Bangladesh, is considered to be the lifeline of the Sylhet region in Bangladesh. There have been intense debates in Bangladesh among civil society groups, environmental groups, human rights organizations and media over the implications of the Tipaimukh Dam on the share of water coming from upper-riparian India. This debate continues to gather momentum as civil society groups from Manipur in India and Sylhet in Bangladesh voice similar concerns and demands across international borders.
The water sharing of trans-boundary rivers between India and Bangladesh has witnessed a bitter past with the Farakka dispute over sharing of waters of the Ganges which is still under negotiation. This issue has been played to the hilt in the domestic political scene in Bangladesh in the past, and the lines are clearly drawn now with the opposition led by Begum Khaleeda Zia actively supporting the anti-Tipaimukh dam civil society groups in Bangladesh. The political opposition has been vociferously attacking the Sheikh Hasina led government which was recently voted to power in Bangladesh and is seen being pro-India. The four party alliance led by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) has vowed to take the Tipaimukh Dam issue to international forums if the government fails to stop it.
A parliamentary delegation formed from the Bangladesh Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources led by Water Resources Minister of Bangladesh, Abdur Razzaq, visited New Delhi en route to the Tipaimukh Dam site in Manipur in the beginning of August 2009, amidst growing domestic criticism of the project in Bangladesh, and stressed upon the need to have negotiations on the concerns and issues raised between both countries. Bangladesh has urged India to conduct a joint study of the implications that the Tipaimukh Dam would have on the region and the future flow of water in the concerned river system, which directly affects Bangladesh, being the lower-riparian country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had taken up Bangladesh’s concerns relating to the Tipaimukh Dam Project with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their meeting on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt recently.
A ‘Long March’ organized by various Bangladeshi civil society organizations which include Tipaimukh Dam Resistance Committee and Sylhet Division Unnayan Sangram Samiti, supported by leaders of BNP and the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami, started for the Tipaimukh dam site on 10 August 2009 but were stopped short of the international border by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), where they held protest demonstrations subsequently. The support of Jamaat-e-Islami on this issue could become a serious source of concern for India.
New Delhi should take urgent note of these events in Bangladesh and treat them with diplomatic caution as these could have effects on the larger India-Bangladesh relationship. This is especially important at a time when the current regime in Dhaka is perceived as being as friendly towards India, and their thus exists an opportunity to make headway on number bilateral issues. The diplomatic path and solution that India takes and offers on this contentious water sharing issue could in fact prove to be a pointer towards what India itself expects other upper riparian countries to follow as precedent, especially as water diversion concerns are rising over the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet by China, which could severely affect the Brahmaputra in India as well as the Jamuna river further downstream in Bangladesh.
The Tipaimukh Dam is located near the confluence of the Barak and the Tuivai rivers in the Tipaimukh sub-division of the Churachandpur district of Manipur. This area is close to the Manipur-Mizoram-Assam border, and therefore the project involves the three states in Northeast India. The Barak river which flows downstream to meet the Surma river system in Bangladesh, is considered to be the lifeline of the Sylhet region in Bangladesh. There have been intense debates in Bangladesh among civil society groups, environmental groups, human rights organizations and media over the implications of the Tipaimukh Dam on the share of water coming from upper-riparian India. This debate continues to gather momentum as civil society groups from Manipur in India and Sylhet in Bangladesh voice similar concerns and demands across international borders.
The water sharing of trans-boundary rivers between India and Bangladesh has witnessed a bitter past with the Farakka dispute over sharing of waters of the Ganges which is still under negotiation. This issue has been played to the hilt in the domestic political scene in Bangladesh in the past, and the lines are clearly drawn now with the opposition led by Begum Khaleeda Zia actively supporting the anti-Tipaimukh dam civil society groups in Bangladesh. The political opposition has been vociferously attacking the Sheikh Hasina led government which was recently voted to power in Bangladesh and is seen being pro-India. The four party alliance led by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) has vowed to take the Tipaimukh Dam issue to international forums if the government fails to stop it.
A parliamentary delegation formed from the Bangladesh Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources led by Water Resources Minister of Bangladesh, Abdur Razzaq, visited New Delhi en route to the Tipaimukh Dam site in Manipur in the beginning of August 2009, amidst growing domestic criticism of the project in Bangladesh, and stressed upon the need to have negotiations on the concerns and issues raised between both countries. Bangladesh has urged India to conduct a joint study of the implications that the Tipaimukh Dam would have on the region and the future flow of water in the concerned river system, which directly affects Bangladesh, being the lower-riparian country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had taken up Bangladesh’s concerns relating to the Tipaimukh Dam Project with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their meeting on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Egypt recently.
A ‘Long March’ organized by various Bangladeshi civil society organizations which include Tipaimukh Dam Resistance Committee and Sylhet Division Unnayan Sangram Samiti, supported by leaders of BNP and the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami, started for the Tipaimukh dam site on 10 August 2009 but were stopped short of the international border by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), where they held protest demonstrations subsequently. The support of Jamaat-e-Islami on this issue could become a serious source of concern for India.
New Delhi should take urgent note of these events in Bangladesh and treat them with diplomatic caution as these could have effects on the larger India-Bangladesh relationship. This is especially important at a time when the current regime in Dhaka is perceived as being as friendly towards India, and their thus exists an opportunity to make headway on number bilateral issues. The diplomatic path and solution that India takes and offers on this contentious water sharing issue could in fact prove to be a pointer towards what India itself expects other upper riparian countries to follow as precedent, especially as water diversion concerns are rising over the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet by China, which could severely affect the Brahmaputra in India as well as the Jamuna river further downstream in Bangladesh.
India needs to address the concerns raised by Bangladesh in a manner which sets the tone and agenda for future trans-boundary water negotiations in the larger region, which is a potential hotbed for future water related conflict. New Delhi has to realize that along with ensuring India’s need to develop its hydro-power potential, the bulk of which is in Northeast India, it also has to cater to concerns of environmental degradation, human displacement and the overall sustainability of such projects. Ambitious projects in Northeast India, both in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh could get easily mired in civil society unrest, where insurgents could rally support among to foment more trouble for New Delhi, something which is already being seen in Manipur.
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