Tipaimukh dam sour Bangladesh-India relationship: speaker at CPB roundtable
Speakers at a roundtable organized by the communist party of Bangladesh (CPB) said that the Tipaimukh dam will sour the relationship between Bangladesh and India and the inflexibility of the Indian government will remain responsible for that.
The discussion on ‘Tipaimukh Dam—No, Asian Highway, Connectivity—Yes’ was set at Progati confarance room of Mukti bhaban of Purana Paltan on Friday.
‘We will have to move ahead in the interest of the people of Bangladesh, not for the sake of opposing India’ said CPB president Manzurul Ahsan Khan
CPB leaders have charged the opposition BNP and its key ally Jamaat of going overboard on the issue of India's controversial Tipaimukh dam project. Besides, they also criticized the comments of the ministers. ‘They have further complicated the situation, CPB leaders said.
‘We will oppose the construction of Tipaimukh dam. But, we will have to counter the political intentions of BNP-Jamaat on this issue,’ said CPB general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim.
‘The Indian high commissioner has said many untoward things about Tipaimukh dam and ridiculed our experts. We protest these. But BNP-Jamaat is going overboard,’ he said.They remain silent when the US and other Western diplomats talk about Bangladesh's internal issues. So their aggressive attitude about Indian high commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty seems politically motivated, Selim said.
CPB endorsed Bangladesh's move to join the Asian Highway network project.
‘Only India and Bangladesh are not involved with the Asian Highway. It will connect the entire region. Everyone will have to take advantage of it.’ CPB general secretary said.
Renowned journalist and writer Syed Abul Maksud suspected that the government was playing hide and seek with the people on the issue. He urged the government to specify their position on the issue in a week.
‘It seems that the government has some weaknesses for the dam and they are trying to safeguard someone's interest,’ he said.
‘It can be said beforehand that the report to be submitted by the parliamentary committee being sent by the government to inspect Tipaimukh will not be to our liking,’ said Maksud. The general secretary of BAPA (Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon), largest environmentalists organization of Bangladesh, Abdul Matin, said, ‘It will be nothing but a tour if the parliamentary party goes to Tipaimukh. They should go to New Delhi instead and talk directly with the Indian government.
He asked the government to display the design of the dam and make public the report on the possible impacts the dam would have on the environment and on the people of Bangladesh and India.
He said if a social movement cannot be created on this issue then Jamaat will take advantage of it.
‘This issue should be solved politically,’ said Angikar Bangladesh Chief Engineer Muhammad HilalUddin, calling for a unified movement of the leftist forces against the dam.

speaker at CPB roundtable on Friday