Is it Muhuri now?

There are other reasons for the disquiet. The embankment on the Indian side is likely to cause river erosion into the Bangladesh territory. A spar on the Indian side has already had river erosion set in near Feni. Furthermore, the proposed Indian structure could interfere with the natural flow of the river thereby threatening to alter its course.

So powerful are the arguments intrinsically against India's unilateral decision that, at one stage, New Delhi herself saw a point in them. Otherwise, how could the 17th meeting of the standing committee of India-Bangladesh Joint-Rivers Commission decide for embankments on both Bangladesh and Indian sides of the river for the benefit of the two peoples? But, even such a mutually acceptable option had to be set aside in view of the 'disputed' status of the two-kilometre-long stretch where the structures were envisioned to be put up. The understanding was that until such time as the border is permanently demarcated the project would be put on hold.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Against this backdrop, an inter-ministerial meeting held in Dhaka recently has rightly called upon India to maintain status quo on the Muhuri river. Let both the countries benefit by embankments on either side of the border after the international boundary will have been demarcated in areas under dispute.

Earlier, in April, an Indian plan to unilaterally divert a substantial portion of the Brahmaputra river water to her southern region was brought up at a seminar organised by the Bangladesh Economic Association. While commenting on the resulting news item, we said, "India must discuss its plans with us" underscoring the fact that the two countries have not had JRC ministerial level meeting during the last three to four years.

We reiterate the call hoping it would be heeded now.