A delegation comprising judge of International Court of Arbitration (ICA) and Indian Secretary Water Resources, are to inspect 969 MW Neelum Jhehlum Hydroelectric Project to weigh Pakistan's arguments against construction of 330 MW Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project in held Kashmir, well informed sources told Business Recorder.

The sources said one member of the delegation has already reached Islamabad whereas others are expected on Friday evening or Saturday.

The delegation will stay in Pakistan for two days.

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

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.

Kolkata, 8 DEC: River expert Kalyan Rudra, who heads the commission set up by the West Bengal government to find an acceptable solution to the Teesta water issue between India and Bangladesh, today said he would submit his report probably by the end of this month. “I will submit the report to the chief minister by this month-end hopefully,” Mr Rudra said.

NEW DELHI, 2 DEC: Seeking to allay apprehensions in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh today said no steps will be taken on the Tipaimukh power project which would “adversely affect” that country.
The assurance was given when Bangladesh Prime Minister Mrs Sheikh Hasina's two advisers ~ Mr Mashiur Rahman and Mr Gowher Rizvi ~ called on him here.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday said the government had failed to sign the Teesta water sharing agreement with India owing to a lack of negotiating skills.
“If the government doesn't have the efficiency to bargain, nobody will give the country anything,” she said at a rally on Jessore Eidgah premises.
The former prime minister began a road march towards the south from the capital on Saturday to drum up public support for a reinstatement of the caretaker government system.

Days after India and China discussed the issue of oil exploration in the South China Sea, Beijing today warned that it did not want foreign companies and outside powers to engage in activities in the disputed waters, saying such acts undermine its sovereignty.
Oil exploration activities by India's ONGC Videsh in the waters off Vietnam had recently irked China and the two countries had differences over the issue.

China and Myanmar have agreed to “properly settle” a dispute over Myanmar’s suspension of a dam built and financed by Chinese firms as a Chinese leader hoped “friendly consultations” would bring a solution to ensure cooperation and stable ties.

China urged Myanmar to protect the rights of its companies after the Southeast Asian nation's president ordered the suspension of construction of a contested hydroelectric dam backed by Beijing.

The move underscored political tension between the strategic neighbors and growing opposition faced by China's dam builders as they take on projects around the world.