NY rally against India's river linking
Bangladeshis in the US have demanded cancellation of the Indian River Linking Project (IRLP), which is aimed at diverting the course of the Brahmaputra and the Ganges rivers away from Bangladesh and toward western and southern India.
Drawing attention of the international community, they said the river project contravenes the 1997 UN Convention on Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. It even violates the 1996 Indo-Bangladesh Ganges Water Sharing Treaty.
The expatriate Bangladeshis raised the demand at a rally held in front of the UN headquarters in New York on May 25. It was organised by Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN), the global network of non-resident Bangladeshis and their international friends.
The rally urged the Bangladesh government to oppose the Indian project more vigorously, and if necessary, raise the issue in appropriate international forums.
The rally sent a memorandum to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; Indian Ambassador to the USA Nirupama Rao, Indian Consul General in New York Pravu Dayal, and Permanent Representative of India to the UN Puri Singh.
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