Hostile neighbour
The Bangladesh Government remains unconvinced by New Delhi’s assertion that its river linking projects are still in its conceptual stage.

North East News Agency

Several water-based projects in Tripura and other North-Eastern states have come to a grinding halt after protests from the Bangladesh Government. The Bangladesh Government remains unconvinced by New Delhi’s assertion that its river linking projects are still in its conceptual stage and that it may cover western part of the country.

At least 14 lift irrigation schemes and three bordering town projects either stopped half done or were yet to start. As the Bangladesh Government during the past several months through the BDR had put up obstruction and raised objection at the standing committee and expert committee level meetings held during the past several months in India and in Bangladesh. In Tripura itself, several projects lie incomplete or could not start following Bangladesh Government’s plan to fish in troubled water.

Report-quoting Bangladesh officials in Dhaka said that India’s plan to link 30 major rivers and direct their flow from North-East to water deficient areas in the south west part of the country would deprive Bangladesh of its fair share of water. Bangladesh shares 54 rivers with India while Tripura, which is flanked by Bangladesh, shares 10 rivers and a large number of rivulets with the neighbouring country. During winter Tripura faces trouble in maintaining the irrigation facilities and other water-based schemes as all the rivers carry little water. The problem got further aggravated after Bangladesh constituted several dams and repair the embankments of the rivers on their side. Out of the nine border towns in Tripura, six are in urgent need of strong protection from erosion of the rivers which flow between the two countries. Just on the eve of the start of three border town protection projects with an estimated cost of Rs. 16 crore, the Bangladesh Government had put up obstruction, forcing the Tripura authorities to stop work on the projects. BDR raised objection to the work on the ground that strips on the high embankment along the Feni River which flows through Sabroom sub-division in to Bangladesh would be used by BSF for setting up camps. This opposition to the renovation work of the embankment and irrigation network would lead to serious hardships for the residents and farmers of the villages along the border. What is most objectionable is that BDR is even resisting the draining of water from the Feni River on grounds that it would affect the interests of Bangladesh.

A similar unresolved dispute remains in the Belonia sub-division in south Tripura district, where BDR is not allowing Indian farmers to cultivate 43 acre land along the Muhuri River and obstructing to the repair works of the embankments of the Muhuri River. This issue was also discussed at the 35th meeting of the JRC in New Delhi and no decision was taken on the long pending disputes. In the last standing committee meeting held between the chief engineers of both the countries at Belonia in south Tripura, Bangladesh had resisted for taking up protection works by both the countries except resumption of construction of 14 lift irrigation projects and one water supply scheme which was not accepted by India.

Indian officials had mentioned that work of life irrigation and water supply scheme beside protection works on both sides should be taken up compositely but Bangladesh did not agree to this proposal.

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