Delhi reassures Dhaka “no harm”

India sought to allay Bangladesh's concerns over the Tipaimukh project as two advisers to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday met the Indian ministers for water resources and power, and the National Security Adviser in New Delhi.
Hasina's advisers Gowher Rizvi and Mashiur Rahman are in the Indian capital as part of regular consultations to review the status of bilateral relations.
They had discussions with Indian Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde about ways to implement the decisions the two countries had taken on water sharing of common rivers and the power sector.
Tipaimukh figured prominently during the advisers' meeting with Bansal, Shinde and National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, said sources.
The Indian ministers and Menon told the advisers that the Tipaimukh project on the Barak river would in no way harm Bangladesh's interests, as it is only a power plant and does not entail diversion of river water, added the sources.
The two advisers declined to give details of the meeting, and described it as a "mere courtesy call".
India had expressed readiness to discuss the issues involving the project after Bangladesh wrote to India last week for holding talks on the Tipaimukh issue.