India, Bangladesh discuss dam on Barak river

New Delhi, Sep 9(ANI): Union Water Resource Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal met visiting Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni on Wednesday to discuss a dam project which is being built by India on the Barak river.

India has approved plans for a 1,500 megawatt project at Tipaimukh on the river, which flows through both countries before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

Bangladesh is asking India to scrap the dam project on Barak River, as experts warn that the dam being built in Manipur could make two rivers in Bangladesh -Surma and Kushiara- dry up, which would be a drastic environmental disaster and affect millions of people.

Earlier, India had commissioned the Farakka Barrage in 1974 on the river Ganges along Bangladesh's northern border to divert water to the river Hoogly to keep Kolkata port navigable.

As a result, Bangladesh faced severe water shortages during winter until a 30-year agreement was signed in 1996 to share the flow.

Critics of the new project cite environmental experts as predicting similar results this time. (ANI)