Green activists yesterday called upon India to stop the construction of the controversial Tipaimukh dam on the Barak river in its northeastern Manipur state as it will adversely affect the haors of different districts of Bangladesh.

The government should raise the demand for a neutral committee to conduct surveys on the impacts the dam will have on Bangladesh's hydrology, economy, environment and human habitation, they said.

They added that the outcome of the surveys should be published so that the data can be further analysed by researchers, says a press release.

Silchar, Feb. 23: The habitat of birds and other animals like leopards, tigers, goral and deer in the Barak valley districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi is fast shrinking because of erosion, encroachment and felling of trees. Devashish Kar, professor of life science department in Assam University, said random felling had resulted in shrinking forest areas, helping encroachers settle on the land.

A cycle rally was taken out by activists in the Indian state of Manipur against the proposed Tipaimukh dam, which they alleged would damage the environment.

The protesters on Saturday also submitted a memorandum addressed to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to revoke the Memorandum of Understanding reached last year between the Manipur government and two state-owned enterprises for the dam's construction, said an Indian daily report yesterday.

The proposed dam will be built at the tri-junction of Manipur, Assam and Mizoram at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore.

People of north-eastern Indian state Manipur and Assam have been raising their voice continuously against construction of 500 meter high Tipaimukh dam that will severely damage life and bio-diversity in that area as well as Sylhet region in Bangladesh.

Imphal, Feb. 19: The campaign against Tipaimukh hydroelectric project is gaining momentum in Manipur with various local organisations joining the anti-dam cry and demanding scrapping of the project. Today, students and villagers from 10 villages of Imphal West took out a bicycle rally in the district.
The campaign was kicked off on February 11 following a review meeting on Tipaimukh dam attended by various Manipur-based NGOs, including the Citizens’ Concern for Dam and Development.

Water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen on Sunday told the parliament that the government was selecting experts to constitute the Bangladesh side on the joint survey team for studying the impacts of the proposed construction of Tipaimukh Dam across the Barak River in the Indian state of Manipur.

‘Bangladesh has already sent a proposal to India for conducting a joint survey on the impacts of the proposed Tipaimukh (Multipurpose) Hydroelectric Project on Bangladesh. The process of forming the Bangladesh side on the joint survey team is in progress,’ he

SILCHAR: Foundation stone for the much-hyped and politically as well as from ecological angle, the most debated multi-purpose hydel project at Tipaimukh in Manipur, popularly known as Barak Dam, was laid down on December 16, 2006 by the then Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Union Minister of State Prithviraj Chauhan, Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh were present.

Guwahati, Jan. 19: Seventy-eight lakh trees will be chopped as part of the forest clearance process for the 1,500MW Tipaimukh hydroelectric project in Manipur, an exercise that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says will be taken up for “national interest”. The project, which has been in the eye of controversies following opposition from Bangladesh, has received support from the Centre, which has promised not to take any steps that would adversely affect the neighbouring country.

Experts and right activists on Sunday urged the government to resist India’s plan for Tipaimukh dam on the river Barak by involving experts and the common people in the procession.

They also demanded a joint study on the environmental effects of the dam on the project area before India built it.

Socio-cultural organisation Moulik Bangladesh organised the roundtable titled ‘Tipaimukh dam and our interest’ at the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs in Dhaka.

Left political leaders on Monday described India’s under construction Tipaimukh Dam as the ‘death trap’ for Bangladesh.

They said that India was unilaterally building the dam violating agreements with lower riparian Bangladesh as well as international conventions.

India is building the dam on the international river Barak before it splits and enters into Bangladesh as Surma and Kushiyara, which later meet the Meghna, as its main tributaries.