International Day of Action 2008: South Asia

 

Bangladesh | India | Nepal

Bangladesh

Celebration and Study Circle

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and the National River Saving Movement (NRSM)organized a few events to celebrate rivers for the 14th day of March, 2008. BAPA held a river-side meeting following kite flying to draw attention to the endangered Shitalakshya of Narayangonj River near Dhaka. On the 14th, they held a study circle to discuss the "River System of Bangladesh". Also in Dhaka, there was a Citizen's Gathering at the bank of the Buriganga River - participants demanded that encroachment and pollution of the river cease and that urban disposals no longer be placed in the Buriganga. 14 local elected representatives of Dhaka City were in attendance. 29 other member-organizations of JNRA working outside of Dhaka planned to also hold programs on the Day of Action to make demands for protection of their rivers.

Contact

Dr. Mohd Abdul Matin
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA)
Bangladesh
Phone: +880-2-8128024
Email: memory14@agni.com
Web: www.bapa.org.bd

 

Angikar Bangladesh Foundation Events


Teesta Youth Parliament meeting
Teesta Youth Parliament meeting
The Teesta Youth Parliament asked participants to raise their voices in protest of the continuing dam projects in the Teesta Basin at an event held on March 28th at the National Press Club in Dhaka. Supporters of their cause were asked to send letters of solidarity to the Youth Parliament at angikarbd@yahoo.com. At the meeting, they presented the "Life and Death Bill of Teesta", which highlights the necessity of halting ecologically detrimental dam projects that also cause water disputes bewteen countries--the Youth Parliament both endorsed and voted yes to the bill. Two days later, a press meeting organized by Angikar Bangladesh was held. On the 31st, a group of valiant inhabitants of the Surma valley led an expedition of protest for four hours against the infamous Tipaimukh Dam project. The river march started in Sunamganj at noon and concluded at the historic Keane's Ghat at 4 PM. At this point, political and social leaders greeted the crowd, and urged Indian authorities to immediately desist from carrying ahead with the controversial Tipaimukh Dam project.

Contact

Muhammad Hilaluddin
Angikar Bangladesh Foundation
Email: angikarbd@yahoo.com
Web: www.angikarbd.org



Human Chain Made Visible the Demands of the People 

Samaj Progoti Sangsth (SPS) planned a human chain on the Gollamari Bridge on the Moyur River, which lies in the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh and runs through Khulna City. In addition to this action, SPS submitted a memorandum to relevant government departments urging them to protect the Moyur from further encroachment and pollution. They also held a press conference at the Khulna Press Club and an additional dialogue with the mayor of Khulna City.

Contact

Alamgir Islam Lablu
Executive Director
Samaj Progoti Sangstha- SPS
Khulna, Bangladesh
Phone : +88 01711 787090, +88 01915 410810
Email : sps@bttb.net.bd, sps_bd@yahoo.com

Human Chain by the Bank of the Surma River

Sylhet Poribesh Andolon (SYPA) organized a human chain (Manob Bondhon) on the 14th of March in protest of the Tipaimukh Dam and to remind people that it is imperative to save the affected river as well as the other twenty five rivers of this region. The chain was formed by the bank of the Surma, which is the largest river in Sylhet.

Contact

A.Karim Kim
Member Secretary
Sylhet Poribesh Andolon (SYPA)
142, Housing Estate,Sytlhet
Bangladesh
Phone: :0088-01711351167
Email: a.karim.kim@gmail.com

India

Joining with communities struggling to save their rivers all over the world

March 14th, the Day of Action, happened to coincide with the 19th day of the Indefinite Satyagraha going on against the proposed Athirappilly hydro-electric project near the Athirappilly waterfalls. More than three hundred people gathered to urge the government of Kerala to prevent development of the proposed project across the beautiful, wild Chalakudy River in the Western Ghats in Central Kerala, South India. The respected Bishop Mar James Pazhayattil inaugurated the protest rally and one-day fast by 100 volunteers from Social Action Forum, which is a social and human rights organization. He called participants to join him in a pledge - he held a mud pot filled with water from the nearby river and soil from the forest, which served as a symbolic representation of the need to protect India's natural resources.

Contact

Chalakudy River Protection Forum
Phone: +91 487 6524110
Web: www.chalakudyriver.org
Email: riverprotection@gmail.com

Indigenous Protest in North India

Thousands of indigenous Lepcha natives of North India ,Sikkim and Darjeeling went to the river Teesta to protest the government's decision to construct 32 dams in one river. The places chosen for construction are important religious landmarks, and their destruction has already created the impetus for a hungerstrike that will last more than 300 days.

Contact

Azuk Tamsangmoo
LEPCHAS
Web: www.weepingsikkim.blogspot.com


Public meeting called for rethinking on the Tipaimukh Dam

The Action Committee Against the Tipaimukh Project (ACTIP) held a public meeting at the Kuki Inn on the Day of Action at which four resolutions concerning the construction of the dam were discussed. ACTIP members called out to the Manipur government to "let the Barak River run free", and concluded that the construction of the high dam should be resisted, as also should be the construction of any dam in the Northeast of the country. They also noted that both the state and central governments should ask for the people's consent before begining similar new projects. On the day when a public hearing involving these parties was scheduled to occur, over 300 people gathered at Kamai and halted the meeting with both their protests and a written submission that the hearing be cancelled because it did not intend to address the people's concerns. A mass rally was also held on March 31st in Imphal.

Contact

Action Committee Against Tipaimukh Dam (ACTIP)
Manipur, India
Email: no2tipaimukhdam@gmail.com

Massive Rally of Maheshwar Dam Oustees

More than twelve thousand affected men and women, children, farmers , laborers, boat people and fisherpeople of the Maheshwar Dam, along with representatives of the oustees of the Omkareshwar, Indira Sagar, Sardar Sarovar, Man, Upper Veda, Tawa, and Bargi dams marched through Mandleshwar in protest. The people demanded that a White Paper be issued on the issue of the Maheshwar Project. They also asserted that they would refuse the illegal direct purchase of land by the company in charge of the project in place of rehabilitation of the oustees, and would not tolerate further violation of their rights. Many renowned individuals and organizations from all over the country participated in the rally,and once the crowd reached the Narmada ghats, all partcipants took an oath to fight against the dams until their last breath. A large meeting at the Mandleshwar bus stand followed.

Contact

Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement)
58, Gandhi Marg
Badwani Dist Khargone
M.P. 451 551
INDIA

Opposition in Numbers

The public hearing for the proposed 3000 MW Dibang Multipurpose Project, which was supposed to be held in New Anaya in the Dibang Valley district on March 12th, could not be conducted due to strong opposition from the local affected people. Hundreds of protestors from various affected villages staged a road blockade along the Roing-Anini road blocking all the vehicular movement towards the venue of the public hearing. Vehicles carrying officials and staff of the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and the National Productivity Council were prevented from reaching the hearing.The All Idu Mishmi Students Union had, just a day earlier, called for a boycott of what it called a 'cosmetic' public hearing.

Contact

Tone Mickrow
All Idu Mishmi Students Union
Roing, Dibang Valley District
Arunachal Pradesh, India
Phone: +91 9436863410

Nepal

Memorandum to the Prime Minister

The Water and Energy User's Federation of Nepal (WAFED), the Nepali Policy Institute, the National Concerned Group and Arun Concerned Group submitted a memorandum about the development of water resources and climate change to the honorable Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on the occasion of the International Day of Action.

Contact

Water & Energy Users' Federation-Nepal (WAFED)
GPO Box 2125
60 New Plaza Marga, Putalisadak, Kathmandu, Nepal
Email:ratanji@gmail.com
Website: www.wafed-nepal.org

For further information, please contact:

Day of Action Coordinator
International Rivers
1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA 94703 USA
Phone: +1 510-848-1155
Fax: +1 510-848-1008
E-mail: dayofaction@internationalrivers.org'