Editorial
Tipaimukh dam issue
We must have our concerns fully addressed
WE welcome Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's announcement, after a meeting with the Indian High Commissioner, that an all-party parliamentary committee will be formed to make a visit to the Tipaimukh dam site, to gather first hand information about the design and technical details of the project and report back to the parliament their findings with comments and suggestions. It is following such a fact-finding visit, that the government will determine its policy. This, if followed correctly, will set a good example of how the legislative and executive branches of the state should work together.
We are happy that the Indian government welcomes such a visit. Indeed, it is a matter of Bangladesh's legitimate rights as a co-riparian country.
The prime minister has, we believe, promptly responded to the heightened concern among environmentalists and experts over the news that the Indian government was going ahead with the controversial Tipaimukh dam project that could spell an ecological disaster for us through desertification and flooding in our eastern region.
The government's idea is to have a thorough parliamentary deliberation on the report before it adopts a stance and conveys it to the Indian government. If there is any issue that merits national consensus, then obviously it is this one. The prime minister is right in seeking it and her reaching out to the opposition on an issue of vital national interest such as this, we believe, will be reciprocated by the political parties outside the government whatever differences they might have on other issues vis-a-vis the government.
But why only the political parties? It is our suggestion that environmentalists, river experts and media persons be involved in the appraisal missions so that all perspectives are brought to bear on the decision-making process at our end. What is happening in Tipaimukh and the consequences the project holds for Bangladesh should all be thoroughly understood, analysed and conveyed to the people so that an informed public opinion is reflected on the final decision of the government.
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