Editorial
Delayed Bangladesh initiative on Tipaimukh
Concrete action still missing
Finally, after several days, we see some move by the government on the vital issue of Tipaimukh dam.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina informed the Jatiya Sangsad of a government decision to send a special envoy to New Delhi to obtain first hand information on India's latest move to implement the Tipaimukh hydro-electric project.
According to Bangladesh Foreign Office, it has indi-cated the government's intention of sending a high level delegation and is now awaiting Delhi's response to act on it.
The government must explain why it took so many days to take any step in this regard. We do not think the foreign ministry under Dipu Moni acted with necessary speed and competence.
We would call upon the government to impress upon Delhi the sense of urgency felt in Bangladesh to be informed of the full detail of India's signing a deal to construct the dam. In view of this, we would urge our foreign ministry to expedite the process of sending the high level delegation at the soonest.
The PM also suggested the need for a joint survey about the effect of the proposed dam. This has also been mooted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief, Khaleda Zia, who not only stressed the urgency of joint survey, but also of sharing the findings of the study. The joint survey must be immediately started.
After years we have a consensual approach in hand to an issue of vital national interest. We consider the opposition leader's move to be one of the first ever acts of constructive opposition. We think the suggestion she made is a very practical, sensible and a doable one.
We commend her for the act, especially for not going on her typical anti-India rhetoric. We think her call for hartal in Sylhet is not appropriate since she had asked for a joint study.
The Indian side must understand that signing of the construction deal in secrecy has damaged our newly placed trust in India. Serious efforts must be made to restore it.
We suggest India should immediately accept the suggestion for a joint survey, especially if it has nothing to hide and if it is sincere in the assurance that nothing harmful to Bangladesh will be done.
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