Protest against India's Planned Tipaimukh Barrage
'Long march' towards Indian border starts
Staff Correspondent, Sylhet
The Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) started its 2-day 'long march' from Sylhet city towards bordering Jakiganj yesterday to protest India's planned construction of the Tipaimukh barrage on the Barak river in Manipur. The march started from the Central Shahid Minar in the city after a rally. The 'long march' is being led party chief Khalequzzamnan, Ex-MP Abdulla Sarker, Bazlur Rashid Firoze, Zahedul Haque Milon, Razequzzaman Ratan, Nurul islam, Abdul Noor Master, Dr. Moinul Islam and Comrade Humayun Khan, who chaired the rally. Ganatantri Party chief Arosh Ali and Arif Miah also spoke, among others, at the rally. Addressing the rally, they said India is constructing the barrage on the international river to produce hydro-electricity. This will dry up the Surma and the Kushiyara rivers in Bangladesh and trigger a desertification process in greater Sylhet region and in the entire Meghna basin, they said. The meandering Barak river passed through Manipur, Mizoram and Assam states in India. It enters Bangladesh at Amolshid in Jakiganj and meets the Surma and the Kushiyara. The Tipaimukh barrage will be a death trap for Bangladesh and millions of people will suffer. Even Brahmanbaria, Kishoreganj and Netrokona districts will be seriously affected, they said. The Indian government is going ahead with implementation of the project ignoring repeated protests by people in Manipur. It will be another Farakka, they said and called upon the people and the government of Bangladesh to resist it. They called upon all patriotic forces to join the 'long march'. The marchers will hold several wayside rallies on their way to Charkhai in Beanibazar upazila, 20 miles off the city. After a brief stop at Charkhai, they will proceed towards Jakiganj upazila headquarters. They will hold several rallies on way. Earlier the BSD held several rallies in the city and in other areas in the district and exchanged views with professional groups in the last few days. Mentionably, the people of Manipur, Assam and Mizoram also protested the project earlier. In Manipur, at least 40,000 aborigines will be displaced by the proposed project. The Indian central government planned the project about a decade ago, but could not go ahead with it in the face of protests by its own people. Tipaimukh Embankment Resistance Committee was formed in Manipur to resist the move.
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