Tipaimukh Dam project absolutely hydro-electric: Razzak

The leader of the fact-finding parliamentary delegation on Wednesday said they had been cleared by India on three matters over the controversial Tipaimukh Dam, including the main one that it will be purely a hydroelectric scheme without any component of water withdrawal from the common river Barak for irrigation.
The two other clarifications were that the Indian side categorically said there would be no structure at Fulertal or any other place on the downstream of the Barak and the Indian government provided data as to how much additional water would flow in Kushiara and Surma rivers of Bangladesh during the dry season following discharge of water through the dam.
Abdur Razzak, also chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources Ministry, disclosed the explanations given by the Indian government after discussing their inspection report placed in short form before the watchdog body in its today’s meeting.
Briefing newsmen at Jatiya Sangad Media Centre he described the outcome of the parliamentary delegation’s visit to the Tipaimkuh project site and their discussions with government leaders in New Delhi en route.
On the amount of discharge of water down the dam, he said there is almost similarity to a study in this regard carried out in 1993 during the BNP regime by a foreign company.
The former Water Reso-urces Minister, Razzak, observed this is for the first time in last 40 years the Indian authority provided Bangladesh delegation a booklet containing extensive data and information about Tipaimukh project.
He mentioned that they have submitted a voluminous report on the Tipaimukh dam to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for next course of action.
“The Prime Minister instantly directed forming an expert and technical committee to examine the data and information of the report to determine Bangladesh’s benefits and risks over the Tipaimukh dam,” Razzak told journalists at the briefing. He said government-to-government interaction between the two countries would decide the next course of action.
On July 29, a 10-member parliamentary delegation led by Abdur Razzak flew to India for the visit to the Tipaimukh dam site at the invitation of the Indian government. The delegation retuned home on August 4.
Razzak said the Indian side also informed them that the Tipaimukh dam would help in controlling floods in Bangladesh as the project will have a flood- moderation component.
Razzak said after the Indian premier and two senior Ministers’ assurances “why we will not trust them. No work will progress if such mistrust remains.”

Courtesy of UNB, Dhaka