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India must give up river-link plan, experts agree

REAZ AHMAD From Kathmandu, Nepal
The most controversial water project of the present time India's River-Link Project (RLP) -- must be halted immediately, and India should give up its unilateral plans for the inter-basin transfer of water from transnational rivers flowing from Nepal and Bhutan to Bangladesh through India.
This was the unanimous recommendation issued yesterday on the second day of the 'South Asia Consultation on Water: Options and Challenges' conference being held in Kathmandu.
Over a 100 experts, policy planners, civil society members,
academics, lawyers, engineers, journalists and activists of NGOs from different South Asian countries joined the meeting being held at the Nepal Administrative Staff College. The South Asian Solidarity for Rivers and People (SARP) and the Water and Energy Users' Federation of Nepal (WAFED) jointly organised the three-day consultation.
Delegates from both upper riparian Nepal and lower riparian Bangladesh raised their voices firmly against their bigger neighbour India's attitude of going ahead with the $200 billion RLP without consulting or even informing its coriparians. Indian delegates representing NGOs, expert groups and
media personnel also echoed this opinion saying the Indian government appeared to be indifferent to the project's disastrous effects even on some of the northern and northeastern Indian states.
WAFED Coordinator Gopal Siwakoti Chintan told the meeting India must stop the RLP immediately. He referred to three treaties signed between Nepal and India on water sharing of three rivers -- the Koshi, the Mohakali and the Gandhak -- to say that as water from these rivers flows down to India from Nepal, India must first review its treaties with Nepal first before embarking on the RLP. FROM PAGE 12
Chintan said Nepal could approach the International Court of Justice or even the United Nations if India violated the rights of its co-riparian upstream.
Dr Nasser Ejazul Huq, who teaches geological science at Jahangirnagar University, said, " The RLP must be immediately stopped. No unilateral decision should be taken to modify any drainage basin that extends across the national borders of the region."
Presenting a paper titled 'What If Jamuna River Has to Change its Character,' Nasser dwelt on the dangerous consequences of the RLP on the Jamuna, the lifeline of the Meghna Estuary, particularly in the context of the Farakka Barrage that has already affected Bangladesh's economy and ecology.
The RLP would greatly affect the natural discharge of the Brahmaputra-Jamuna System, said Nasser. "The flow of rivers into Bangladesh will be totally controlled and made absolutely dependent on the conditions at several man-made structures like dams, reservoirs, diversion canals etc."
Nasser, who is also a basin analyst, said, "In spite of all the best efforts, wishes and dreams of the planners of the RLP, the Jamuna may ultimately end up with high-magnitude, high-frequency flash floods during wet seasons and extreme dry conditions in the summer."
He concluded with the suggestion, "Consultation with all stake-
holders must start immediately on water-management issues of our region."
The country Representative of Winrock International in Nepal Bikash Pandey moderated the panel discussion yesterday morning. Dr Vijay Paranjpye, Dr Shudhirendra Sharma and Dinesh Kumar Mishra of India, Bishnu Priti of Nepal and Dr Nazrul Islam of Bangladesh took part in the discussion.
Bikash stressed people-to-people understanding to address the problem. Shudhirendra pointed out that voices had been raised against the RLP within India even before Nepal and Bangladesh expressed their alarm.
Vijay Paranjpye gave a brief overview of the RLP. He said though it was aimed at irrigating 35 million hectares of arable land, generate 34,000 megawatts of power and raise food production to 450 million tonnes from 210 million tonnes to feed the projected population of 1.8 billion in India in 2050, no study on its ecological impact has been carried out yet.
Vijay gave a primary estimate that the building of reservoirs, dams and link-canals under the RLP would result in the displacement of 4 million people in India and posed the question, "Who will bear the social costs?"
The consultation will end tomorrow afternoon with a declaration that will be known as the Kathmandu Statement.