Bangladesh sought more info on the controversial Tipaimukh hydroelectric project at second meeting of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC), concluding in Dhaka Saturday.
A joint media release after the two-day meeting said the meeting was held in a ‘friendly and cordial atmosphere’ and technical aspects of the proposed dam had been presented at the meeting.
“Appreciating the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report handed over earlier to Bangladesh, the Bangladesh side requested for some additional data and reports which the Indian side took note of,” it said.
Bangladesh has engaged Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) for ‘mathematical modelling’ in all relevant aspects of the proposed dam including hydrologic and hydrodynamic, morphology, salinity and probable hazards.
The Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) has been engaged for impact assessment on hydrology, morphology, agriculture, fisheries, navigation, livelihood, and ecosystem.
The media release said the IWM and the CEGIS presented the Technical Aspects of the Inception Reports at the meeting.
Few technical suggestions had been made at the meeting, it said.
India moved to construct a dam on the common Barak river in 2011 to generate hydro-power in the country’s northeastern Manipur state.
Manipur on Oct 22 last year signed an agreement with the state-owned NHPC Ltd and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd to construct the 1,500MW Tipaimukh hydroelectric power project in the state.
BBC had earlier reported that Manipur had signed the contracts to build the controversial dam on Barak river, which flows into Bangladesh as Surma.
In response to a previous letter sent from the Bangladesh government enquiring about the project, India assured that the project would not affect the country adversely.
However, many environmentalists and water experts in Bangladesh and India have warned that the Tipaimukh dam would spell disasters in the Meghna River basin that would wreak environmental havoc in the eastern part of Bangladesh damaging lives and livelihood of people. Bdnews24.com
