Bangladesh will resolve through talks any dispute with India over the waters of common rivers, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni has said even as the opposition demanded international intervention to prevent New Delhi from constructing a dam at Tipaimukh in the northeastern region.
“If the Tipaimukh or any other structure on upstream Indian regions threatens Bangladesh’s interest, steps will be taken to resolve the dispute through talks,” Moni told newsmen in the central Chandpur district.
She said the Indian government, has “assured us that they will in no way act to harm Bangladesh”.
Moni’s comments came as the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said they would seek support from the international community, including the UN, to hold back India from constructing the Tipaimukh dam on river Barak that threatens “exposing half of the country to desertification”.
“Construction of a dam at Tipaimukh would be a death-trap for Bangladesh. It is not an issue of mudslinging against (ruling) Awami League, it rather involves the very existence of the lives of the 15 crore people of the country,” BNP vice president Hafizuddin Ahmed told newsmen yesterday.
BNP’s secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain said it was the government’s responsibility to protest against such a project “but it appears they are not willing to protect the interests of the people as it came to power with the help of alien forces”.
{{/usCountry}}BNP’s secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain said it was the government’s responsibility to protest against such a project “but it appears they are not willing to protect the interests of the people as it came to power with the help of alien forces”.
{{/usCountry}}