DU Correspondent :
Students from Dhaka University, organised by the cultural group Inkilab Manch, are set to embark on a ‘long march’ towards Dambur Dam in Tripura on Friday, September 6, 2024. This initiative aims to advocate for the removal of one-way dams on inter-border rivers.
The march will commence at 9 am from Shahbagh, as announced by Sharif Usman Hadi, the convenor of Inkilab Manch, during a press conference held at the Madhur Canteen of Dhaka University on Wednesday.
Participants will gather at Shahbagh before proceeding to hold a meeting at Jatrabari intersection at 10 am, followed by another meeting at Chandina in Cumilla after Friday prayers. The day’s events will culminate in a mass rally at the town hall of Cumilla at 4 pm, after which the marchers will head towards Dambur Dam and continue to the Bibi Bazar border.
Hadi mentioned that the group has arranged for ten trucks to transport participants to Dambur Dam, while others may use their own vehicles or join by bike. He expressed concerns over India’s management of water resources, stating, “India has used water as a weapon against us…
They oppressed the biodiversity by opening the dam even without issuing notice to Bangladesh in this regard. They oppressed the people of Bangladesh.”
In addition to their march, Inkilab Manch has outlined five key demands, including the urgent implementation of the Teesta Master Plan, immediate signing of the UN Watercourses Convention of 1997, compensation claims from India as per the convention due to Bangladesh’s status as a downstream country, and the formulation of a new list of trans-boundary rivers.