'Bangla to seek jt survey on environment impact of Tipaimukh'

Anisur Rahman

Dhaka, Jul 28 (PTI) Bangladesh will seek a joint survey on
environmental impact of the cross-border Tipaimukh dam being
built by India over Barak river in northeastern state of
Manipur, a leader of the ruling Awami League said Tuesday
ahead of the party MPs' visit to the site of the hydro-power
project.

An 11-member Bangladeshi parliamentary delegation, sans
opposition lawmakers, leaves here tomorrow for India to
inspect the site of the cross-border Tipaimukh Dam over Barak
river, one of the main sources of water in this country.

"The main purpose of our five-day visit is to see what
they (are) actually doing at Tipaimukh as it created a lot of
misleading ideas in the country," the delegation's leader and
Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee, Abdur Razzak,
told PTI.

He said the delegation would hold talks with Indian
foreign and power ministry officials and the government
leaders apart from visiting the project site in Manipur along
Bangladesh's northeastern Sylhet region.

"We will seek to carry out a joint survey on the
environmental impact of the project in the downstream
regions," said Razzak, also former Water Resource Minister
during the past 1996-2001 Awami League rule.

Razzak regretted that despite repeated requests, the main
opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of ex-premier
Khaleda Zia opted out of the delegation, now comprising MPs of
Awami League. PTI AR
DDC