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Tipaimukh dam : Delhi-Dhaka talks |
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The Centre has scheduled a high-level meeting with Bangladesh in Dhaka on January 16 in a bid to sort out the lingering acrimony between the neighbours over the construction of the Tipaimukh dam.
Union Water Resources Minister Sontosh Mohan Dev said he would head the Indian delegation at the meeting.
The step is aimed at allaying Dhaka’s misgivings about the utility of the proposed dam. The North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco), which has been assigned the task of implementing the Rs 5000-crore project, has assured that the scheme would not adversely affect Bangladesh.
A two-day international conference held in Dhaka last week, on the potential pitfalls of the Tipaimukh dam, opposed the execution of the project. Bangladesh’s objection is based on the fear that the construction of a dam on the trijunction of Manipur, Mizoram and Assam will impede the flow of the Kushiara and Surma rivers into its territory. The twin rivers are tributaries of the Barak.
About 200 delegates from India, Bangladesh and Nepal attended the international meet.
The project is aimed at regulating the flow of the Barak in an effort to control annual floods and improve irrigation facilities. It is expected to generate about 1,500 MW power.
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