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Resist Tipai Mukh dam, save Bangladesh

Protests held in Sylhet, Chandpur

Star National Desk
Environmentalists joined by professionals, political activists and crosssections of people staged demonstrations and held rallies in Sylhet and Chandpur yesterday protesting planned implementation of Tipai Mukh dam project in Indian state of Manipur that will create an ccologi cal disaster in Bangladesh.
The Indian authorities on October 24 gave environmental clearance for construction of the mega project that will reduce flows of Surma, Kushlyara and Meghna rivers; and hasten desertification and destroy greens in their basins.
With the environmental clearance, the mega project got a step forward towards implementation.
Angikar Bangladesh, a forum of environmentalists, organised the programmes to raise protests against construction of the dam, which, according to experts, will be another Farakka that controls the flow of Padma, the lifeline for several southwestern districts of Bangladesh.
in Sylhet, the programmes were held at the central Shahid Minar in the city. The angry demonstrations also burnt a token copy of the clearance at the rally, reports our Staff Correspondent in Sylhet.
Sylhet divisional coordinator of Angikar, Main Uddin Ahmed Jalal chaired the rally, addressed by , among others Public Prosecutor EU Shahidul Islam and Iftekhar Haque Paplu. A good number of cultural activists also attended the rally.
The people in Surma, Kushiyara and Megiina basin areas in Bangladesh as well as of the Indian states of Assam and Manipur will be severely affected by tiie dam, they said.
Already, some Indian organisations protested against the dam project, the speakers asserted. There should be tougher agitation against the move, they said and called upon Bangladesh government, political parties and all democratic and patriotic forces to raise protests to save the ecology and environment in the country.
They urged the government to make strong protests with the Indian government immediately.
There were strong protests against the mega project also in Manipur, /Assam and Mizoram The dam will threaten existence of at least
40,000 indigenous people In the three Indian states, where the ecology will be badly affected, they said.
Some 25 forums in the three Indian states jointly formed a body styled Tipaimukh Embankment Resistance Committee to protest the move.
Talking to the Daily Star yesterday, a senior official ofWater Development Board (WDB) said, implementation of the project will create a disaster for greater Sylhet region during dry season due to withdrawal of water of Barak river in Manipur that bifurcated into two flows and entered Bangladesh as Surma and Kushiyara. There will be serious flooding during monsoon when the water will be released, he said.
The WDB official said, implementation of the gigantic project will hasten desertification of Meghna basin areas. "It will be another Farakka and it should be stopped at any cost as it will scratch our livelihood", he said.
In Chandpur Angikar Bangladesh organized similar programmes on YJ) a h e e d Muktijoddha Sarak proetsing the Indian government's move, reports a correspondent