10 August,2009 11:54 AM IST | | PTI
With opposition BNP threatening a 'mass movement' against India's planned Tipaimukh dam project in Manipur, Bangladesh has said construction of the reservoir was unlikely to cause a major problem for the country, but hoped that bilateral talks could resolve the issue if it appeared problematic.
"Tipaimukh dam does not appear to be a big issue. We can resolve it through discussions if it becomes apparent that construction of the dam will create problems for us," Minister for Water Resources Mahbubur Rahman told New Age newspaper.
Rahman said the government would take initiatives for holding bilateral talks to reach a solution "if it seems to us that the Tipaimukh Dam will be a problem".
His comments assume significance in the wake of Bangladesh Nationalist Party threatening to mount a "mass movement" against India's controversial project.
"We must thwart India's plan to set up this death-trap for Bangladesh, which is called the Tipaimukh dam," BNP Secretary General Khondokar Delwar Hossain told a discussion on the dam at the National Press Club on Sunday.
About the opposition campaigns against the Tipaimukh dam, the Minister said agitations, including long march, which reflected the sentiment of the people of Bangladesh over the issue, were positive and it would help the government deal with India over the matter.
"But if any quarter tries to do politics over the Tipaimukh dam issue, the people will judge it," Rahman said. His comments come two days after a Parliamentary delegation submitted a report to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after its return from India following a weeklong visit, during which they held talks with senior leaders and officials.
Hasina on Saturday said her government would not give consent to anything detrimental to the country's interests in relation to Tipaimukh Dam construction on the Barak River in Manipur.
"We will not do or support anything detrimental to the country's interest in relation to Tipaimukh dam. Our prime task will be to protect the country's interest at any cost," she said after the leader of the 10-member delegation Abdur Razzak apprised her of the talks with Indian leaders and officials.
