LETTER FROM DHAKA DAMN THE DAMS: BANGLA BOILING OVER INDIA’s TEESTA, TIPAIMUKH BARRAGES NANTOO BANERJEE

The anti-India rantings in Bangladesh over the construction of dams over the rivers Teesta in West Bengal and the Barak at Tipaimukh in Manipur have reached such a crescendo that it has brought together the country's two most heavy-weight political rivals – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – on the same platform on the water sharing issue. Both blame India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for going back on his promises to take Bangladesh into confidence and address the latter's concern over the availability of water from the two rivers, which flow through lower riparian Bangladesh, during the lean season after these dams are erected.

As things stand now, Bangladesh appears to be more agitated over the Tipaimukh dam than the Teesta barrage. One reason could be that West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's positive response to Bangladesh foreign minister Dipu Moni's plea on the Teesta water sharing issue. The two powerful ladies discussed the subject at a specially convened meeting at the Writers' Buildings during the latter's recent visit of Kolkata after the Saarc summit. The Teesta water sharing pact, which was scheduled to be signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Monmohan Singh's last official visit of Bangladesh, had to be abruptly left out of the join agenda because of the objection raised by the West Bengal chief minister. Ms Mamata Banerjee was practically kept in the dark about the matter by New Delhi's babudom until it was too late.

Dr. Singh had cut a very sorry figure in Bangladesh. The prime minister promised to pursue the Teesta water issue with Ms Banerjee in right earnest on return to India. This was done. Following this, Ms Dipu Moni's personal initiative to engage Ms Mamata Banerjee on the subject appeared to have melted the ice. The West Bengal CM had promised to take a decision soon after going through a fresh technical report about the water availability at Teesta and its discharge into Bangladesh during the lean season.

But, even before Ms Dipu Moni could brief Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cabinet colleagues on her return to Dhaka on November 17 about the new light of hope over the Teesta water sharing, the work contract given by the Manipur government to the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam, both central public sector undertakings, for the Tipaimukh barrage in October raised a massive hue and cry in Bangladesh political circles, across the party lines. Political leaders and the media immediately projected India and its government as 'untrustworthy.' Once again, Dr. Manmohan Singh's earlier assurance to the Bangladesh government that nothing would be done at Tipaimukh which could go against the interest of Bangladesh failed to impress. "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored," said Dr Abdul Mannan, a liberal thinker and former vice chancellor of the Chittagong University. Moazzem Hossain, a leading financial journalist and newspaper editor known for his positive views on the need for a strong Bangladesh-India relations and greater economic engagement, too was depressed by the development over the proposed Tipaimukh dam.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her pro-India party bosses are most embarrassed over the development at the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur. The timing is also crucial. Bangladesh is in the midst of municipal elections. BNP's Khaleda Zia had already shot off a letter to Dr Singh through the local Indian envoy, the contents of which were leaked to the media even before the letter was dispatched out of the Indian High Commission at Dhaka. The letter demanded a joint survey of the proposed dam and its environment impact on Bangladesh. She has warned India against taking a unilateral decision on building a dam on the Barak river, a key feeder line to the Meghna river in Bangladesh, the basin of which supports the livelihood of millions of people. Others in her party have threatened to even take the dispute to the International Court of Justice for resolution.

Interestingly, the proposed Tipaimukh dam to generate some 1,500 MWs of hydroelectric power by India is not a new project. India kept the Bangladesh government in the loop about the project way back in 2003 when Ms Khaleda Zia was the prime minister. It was raised again at a joint meeting in Delhi when she last visited India in 2006 as the Bangladesh prime minister. She had reportedly supported the project, then. Ms Khaleda Zia was publicly blasted by Sheikh Hasina for her 'double-speak' just because she was now out of power. It is said that the water resources minister in the previous BNP-Jamat coalition government, led by Ms Khaleda Zia, had earlier held the view that Bangladesh would not be affected if the Tipaimukh dam was built.

The Bangladesh prime minister is, however, in no mood to sit idle over Dr. Singh's assurance, especially after Ms Khaleda Zia's nation-wide campaign against the so-called Indian design accompanied by a huge media orchestration. Sheikh Hasina is sending a high profile emissary to Delhi, seeking all relevant information from the Indian government and asking India to hold consultations with the Bangladesh government before proceeding with the construction of the Tipaimukh project. She is of the view that the proposed dam could play havoc on the ecology, agriculture and fisheries downstream in Bangladesh. "We liberated the country …. Bangladesh's interests will never be compromised as long as Awami League remains in power," she said in response to a query from her party colleague in parliament.

Unfortunately, there exists a wide-spread trust deficit in Bangladesh vis-à-vis India and its government. India's sincere effort to lead a strong economic co-operation with Bangladesh by opening up its US$ 72-billion domestic textile market to Bangladeshi exporters and removing tariff barriers on a host of items of export from Bangladesh failed to receive much publicity there. It is sad that the impact of such a grand gesture on the part of Dr Singh's United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on the Bangladesh economy has gone practically unnoticed and least appreciated by opinion leaders from the industry, the media and the local public. The fault is entirely of that of the India government, its diplomatic mission and business community. The trade treaty was clearly underwhelmed as the failed Teesta accord took the centre-stage.

A microscopically small section of Bangladeshi intellectuals, however, feel that the anti-India feeling, fomented by vested interest groups aided and nurtured by external agencies, is rather deep rooted. Ironically, there are no protestations in Bangladesh about the Chinese plan to build a huge dam at the source of the mighty Brahmaputra river, which may ultimately dry up Bangladesh's most important lifeline, the Padma river. Bangladesh is waiting for India to take up the issue since the diversion of or control over the Brahmaputra at the source in Tibet will first affect Assam. Bangladesh is not agitated over its huge trade imbalance with China, the country's largest trading partner. Its trade with China is almost one-sided as the latter buys hardly anything from Bangladesh. As in the case of Pakistan, the growing Chinese engagement with Bangladesh in the field of military co-operation and infrastructure building will provide China a direct road access to the vital Chittagong port.

In fact, Bangladesh offers a big challenge to the success of India's so-called 'look-east' policy. The current visa restrictions to Bangladesh need to be immediately relaxed at least for educationists, intellectuals, journalists and business persons. Bangladesh TV channels are demanding a better access to Indian audience. Indian entertainment television channels in Hindi are very popular in Bangladesh. Certainly, there exists a great scope for setting up such joint forums between the two nations as those in the fields of art, culture, education, healthcare, cinema, media, politics, history and business with frequent and highly meaningful and interactive agendas to bring the people of the two countries in various walks of life together and build trust for each other. After all, Bangladesh is India's first major destination on the way to its journey to the east. Ends

 

 

 

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Abdul Mannan
Professor
School of Business
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh
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Bangladesh.
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E-mail: abman1971@gmail.com
abdul.mannan@ulab.edu.bd
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