Located on the banks of the winding pair of rivers Surma and Jaintia and
surrounded by Khasi and Tripura hills, Sylhet, the beautiful paradise of
Bangladesh, is very soon going to turn into a vast barren wasteland.
this city is situated in the north-eastern region of Bangladesh. The
Sylhet region is well known for its tea gardens and tropical forests.
The valley has good number of big natural depressions, called ‘haors’.
During winter these haors are vast stretches of green land, but in the
rainy season they turn into turbulent seas. These haors provide a
sanctuary to the millions of migratory birds who fly from Siberia across
the Himalayas to avoid the severe cold there. India has started the
construction of the Tapaimukh on the Barrak River in Manipur State just
100 km off the Bangladesh border.
It is likely to affect two major rivers of Bangladesh; Surma and
Kushiarra which are life line for the Sylhet region. The Dam will be 390
meters long and 162.8 meters high. It will be at an altitude of about
180 meter above mean sea level with a maximum reservoir level of 178
meters. The construction of this dam has stirred a lot of fear in
Bangladesh because the whole economic prosperity of Bangladesh depends
upon the river system. Since 1975 the sharing of river waters has been a
bone of contention between India and Bangladesh. The construction of
Farraka and Teesta barrage from India has already added salt to injury
on the part of Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh has protested
the construction of these two dams by calling it a violation of
bilateral water sharing agreements between the two countries but the
Indian government paid no heed to this hue and cry and started
construction of the Tapaimukh dam. In the beginning the project was kept
secret. The people of Bangladesh came to know of this dam when in April
2009 the Indian Foreign Secretary visited Bangladesh and requested the
government to send a delegation to visit the Dam site. Since then
various political parties, environment groups, and people from Dhaka and
Sylhet and other cities are in a state of protest against this
construction.
The Dam was originally designed to contain flood waters in the lower
Barrak valley, but hydro power generation was later incorporated. The
project will have an installation capacity of 1500 MW and a firm
generation of 412 MW. The Dam will permanently submerge an area of
275.50 square kilometers. Reportedly a pick up barrage is also being
planned, 95 Km down stream of Dam site. Bangladeshi experts are of the
opinion that the construction of Dam will disrupt the seasonal flow of
river and will have an adverse effect on downstream agriculture and
fisheries. Some experts fear the desertification of Sylhet region due to
decrease of water flow in Meghna basin comprising River Surma, Kushiarra
and Meghna. Majority of Bangladeshis are in anticipated fear of the
probable damage that may be created after construction of Dam.
Not only in Bangladesh but also in India the construction of this dam is
facing a very strong opposition. More than twenty influential social and
political organizations in Manipur state have united under the banner of
“Action Committee against Tapaimukh Project”. These organizations have
termed it as, “Water Bomb” due to its adverse effects on environment in
Barrak Valley. It means that this dam is going to cause a lot of damage
not only to the economy of Bangladesh but also to the people of the
Manipur State. The politicians from Manipur are of the opinion that as a
result of the construction of this dam about 286.20 Sq Km area will be
submerged for ever. More than 40 thousands people will be rendered
homeless. Eight villages situated in Barrak valley will be completely
under water. More than 90 villages will be adversely affected. About
27,242 hectors of cultivable land will be lost. The construction of the
Tapaimukh Dam is being opposed by the People of Southern Assam also.
Various social organizations in Southern Assam are opposing the
construction of Dam due to devastating environmental impact on down
stream Barrak basin. The Silchar based Society of Activist and Volunteer
for Environments (SAVE) is leading the resistance movement against the
construction of this dam in the Southern Assam. People, civil society,
NGOs and environmentalists of Bangladesh, Manipur and the Southern Assam
have joined hand together against the construction of this dam. They are
strongly criticizing the proposed constructions through seminars,
rallies and demonstrations. The experts fear that construction of the
Dam will affect the livelihood of about 50 million people spanning
sixteen districts in Sylhet region and many more in Manipur and the
Southern Assam.
Faced with public protests, the government of India has adopted a “wait
and see” policy with several ministers citing Indian claims that dam
would not be harmful to anyone. To pacify the people of Bangladesh a
parliamentary delegation was invited to India in August 2009, to visit
the dam site but the tour to the dam site was ironically cancelled due
to bad weather. Building dams and reservoirs on rivers flowing towards
Bangladesh would have serious environmental and survival implications
for Bangladesh. This increasing gravity of water issue can bring the two
South Asian countries to the brink of war. By violating the water
treaties India is designing to choke Bangladesh economically. It is the
high time to put a check on heinous Indian desires of depriving its
neighbours of the basic human rights. It would be in the interest of
both India and Bangladesh to resolve the water issue amicably otherwise
India will be responsible for any negative consequences.
