SB-Sujon, Lalmonirhat Correspondent:
A march titled ‘Jago Bahe Teesta Bachai’ has been held in Lalmonirhat to demand the implementation of the Teesta Master Plan. The march, which started from the railway station area of Lalmonirhat district town on Monday (February 10) afternoon, circled the main road of the town and ended at Mission More. About 10,000 ordinary people from all walks of life, including BNP leaders and activists of Lalmonirhat district, participated in the march led by Asadul Habib Dulu, the chief coordinator of the Jago Bahe Teesta Bachai movement and BNP organizing secretary.
At a brief rally after the march, the BNP leader said that people in this region of the traditional Teesta River in Rangpur region once had rice fields full of rice, cows full of cows, and Bhawai songs on their lips. People on the banks of the Teesta used to spend happy days. The Teesta River was like our mother, that Teesta River has now dried up and turned into a desert. The Teesta River is now a sandy beach. He said, our neighboring country builds dams upstream of the Teesta River during the dry season and retains water, and releases water for no reason during the rainy season, resulting in floods, which inundate the homes of millions of families, houses and rivers eroding, leaving millions of people destitute and homeless. The Teesta has now become a cause of our sorrow, the only hope of the Teesta people’s life and livelihood.
The previous government not only deceived the people of Teesta with the Teesta Master Plan but also mocked them. We often hear that the Teesta Master Plan will be implemented, but in reality, nothing has happened. We also know that our friendly neighboring country China had expressed interest in financing it, a memorandum was also signed, for some reason it did not see the light of day. If this Teesta project is implemented, their lost traditions and livelihoods will be restored, and the people of this region will be active, but nothing has happened. Currently, when we look at Teesta, all of us feel sad. So far, no government has been able to implement the Teesta Master Plan, so we have announced this movement program with the aim of fair distribution of the river’s water and building permanence in implementing this Teesta mega project. And the people of 5 districts along the banks of Teesta have joined this movement.
After the march and brief rally, it was announced that a 48-hour continuous program would be held at 11 locations including Nilphamari, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur and Gaibandha districts on February 17 and 18 to demand a fair share of Teesta water and take swift action to implement the Teesta Master Plan.
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