8,000 people march across Tista
A march titled ‘Jago Bahe Teesta Bachai’ has been held in Lalmonirhat demanding the implementation of the Teesta Master Plan. The march, which started from the railway station area of Lalmonirhat district town on Monday afternoon, circled the main road of the town and ended at Mission More. 8,000 people participated in it.
Led by Asadul Habib Dulu, the chief coordinator of the Jago Bahe Teesta Bachai movement and BNP organizing secretary, the march was attended by leaders and activists of Lalmonirhat district BNP and ordinary people from all walks of life.
At a short rally after the march, Asadul Habib Dulu said that in this area, which is the traditional Teesta river in Rangpur region, people once had rice fields full of rice, cattle pens full of cows, and singing songs. People across the Teesta once spent their days happily. 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. This results in floods. The houses of lakhs of families are submerged in water. Due to river erosion, lakhs of people are being left destitute and leaving their homes. The Teesta River, which was the only hope for the people of Teesta, has now become a cause of our sorrow.
Dulu said, the previous government not only deceived the people of Teesta regarding the Teesta Master Plan, but also made fun of it. 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 here, and a memorandum was also signed. I don’t know why it did not see the light of day. If this Teesta project is implemented, their lost heritage and livelihood will be restored, and the people of this region will be active; but nothing has happened. Currently, when we look at Teesta, our hearts are aching. So far, no government has been able to implement the Teesta Master Plan, so we have announced this movement program for the implementation of this Teesta mega project, for the fair distribution of the river’s water and the construction of a permanent dam. And people from 5 districts along the banks of Teesta have joined this movement.
After the march and short rally, a 48-hour continuous program was announced to be held simultaneously in 11 places including Nilphamari, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur and Gaibandha districts on February 17-18 to demand a fair share of Teesta water and to take immediate steps to implement the Teesta Master Plan.
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