IFC
held the historical Long March and Grand Rally 2005
at Chilmari Bandar
In protest against 'Indian River
Inter-link Project', the
International Farakka
Committee (IFC), N.Y,
along with IFC Bangladesh
(IFC-BD) and
IFC North American Committee for Long March, have
organized a successful Long March 2005. It has started
from the premises of ‘Bangladesh National Press
Club’ on 3 March 2005 and gathered together more
than 5,00,000 people, at the end of which held a
Grand Rally on the morning of 4 March 2005 at the
Chilmari Bandar, Kurigram district, Rangpur, Bangladesh.
More Pictures
| Hundreds
of thousands of people gathered at Chilmari
river port at the close of Long March in protest
against upstream water diversion by the Indian
river inter-link project which is causing devastating
effect on Bangladeshi rivers. |
The pledges expressed by the slogans of half a million
people in the meeting at Chilmari, were a call to
the world communities ‘to Cancel and stop the Indian
River inter-link project’. Because, it will create
a devastative adverse effect on Bangladesh rivers,
will destroy the lifelines and livelihood for many
Bangladeshi people in towns and villages: agriculture,
transportation, trade and commerce, socio-economic
development and what not? Moreover, the Indian River
inter-link project will completely destroy the environment,
ecology, flora and fauna of Bangladesh. They all
call it a weapon of mass destrucion.
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Long
March ends with a vow to resist India's river linking plan
It
was a huge gathering of more than a 5,00,000 (five hundred
thousand) people! They belong to all walks of life in Bangladesh,
from all religions and irrespective of caste and creed.
The historical Long March 2005 and the grand rally were
presided over by Mr. Atiqur Rahman Khan Eusufzai Salu, Chairman,
International Farakka Committee, NY, Inc. The programme
was conducted by Mr. Sayed Tipu Sultan, Secretary General
of IFC and coordinated by Mr. Mohammad Hossain Khan, Senior
Assistant Secretary General of IFC and General Secretary,
North American Committee for Long March .
Among
many addressed the rally were, Professor Dr. Jasim Uddin
Ahmad, Former Vice Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University
and President, IFC Bangladesh, Engr. Dr. S.I. Khan, Former
UN Environmental Expert and Senior Vice- President, IFC
Bangladesh, Mr. Mohammad Saleh, Convenor, North American
Committee for Long March and Grand Marshall of the Rally,
Mr. Awlad Hossain Khan, Senior Vice-President, IFC, NY,
Mr. Anwarul Haque, Adviser, IFC Canada Chapter and Water
Resources Exert, Mr. Shamsul Alam Chowdhury, Convenor, IFC-United
Kingdom (UK) Chapter, Mr. James Burge, Journalist from NY,
USA, Mr. Golam Habib Dulal, Member of Parliament, Kurigram-4
Constituency, Mr. Shamsuzzaman Dudu, Former Member of Parliament
and General Secretary, Jatyatabadi Krishak dal, Moulana
Abdul Aziz, M.P. Sundarganj, Mr. A Bari Sarkar, Former M.P.,
Dr. Zafarullah Chowdhury, Chairman Gono Shyashtho Kendra
and Adviser IFC Bangladesh, Mr. Fayez Ahmed, a renouned
poet and Journalist, BFUJ President and an eminent Journalist
Mr. Gias Kamal Chowdhury, Mr. Sadeq Khan, an eminent Journalist,
Columnist and Adviser IFC Bangladesh, Dr. M. Khalilur Rahman,
Vice-Chancellor of Moulana Bhasani University of Science
and Technology and Vice-President, IFC Bangladesh and Mrs.
Nazma Shika, Adviser, IFC Bangladesh, Mr. Irfanul Bari,
Vice President, IFC Bangladesh , Poet Bulbul Khan Mahbub,
Mr. Shudhangshu Chakravorty, Central leader of BSD, Mr.
Aminul Islam Golap, Workers Party leader, Advocate Idris
Ali, President Kurigram district long march committee, Mr.
Ashraf Uddin, President Rangpur, district long march committee,
Mr. Abu Bakar Siddiq, Chairman, Kurigram Pourashava and
Secretary, Kurigram district long march committee, Mr. Joynal
Abedin, President Chilmari Upazila long march committee.
More Picture
| Leaders
speaking at the gathering of hundreds of thousands of
people at Chilmari river port at the close of long march
from Dhaka on 4 March 2005. The stage was designed by
Abul Fazal. |
Chilmari
Declaration 2005 Details
The
International Farakka Committee (IFC) in a 15-point Chilmari
Declaration (CD) on Friday, 4 March 2005 in Chilmari, Kurigram
district of Bangladesh, strongly protested the India’s river-linking
Project and vowed to resist it at any cost. The IFC also
asked India to abandon the plan terming it as a weapon of
mass destruction which plans to kill millions of people
in Bangladesh including women and children.
he
Chilmari declaration was read out in the grand rally held
after the long march 2005 by Senior Assistant Secretary
General of the IFC Mr. Mohammad Hossain Khan on the Brahmaputra
bed at Chilmari River Port in Kurigram, Bangladesh. Hundreds
of thousands of people from all walks of life from all over
the country took part in the huge rally.
The
speakers expressed their grave concern over the disastrous
Indian plan for linking 37 common rivers and to divert water
from those rivers in the upstream in the Uttar Pradesh,
Rajstan, Gujrat, Hariyana, Daccan states.
As
Indian River-link Project is being implemented by Indian
Government by violating all the International Laws, regulations
and conventions of river sharing. If India implements her
river-linking project, in an adverse effect of which Bangladesh
will turn into a desert within next few years, while water
in the rivers will disappear and ground water level will
go down, intrusion of saline water and increase of salinity
in soil and groundwater, crops will not grow, ecology and
bio-diversity will be destroyed and their will be no habitation.
As
an aftermath of India’s Farakka dam has already created
serious adverse effect on Bangladesh’s south-western region,
threatening to extinct the Sundarbans, the world's largest
mangrove forest and a heritage of mankind. It has already
increased salinity as well as arsenic contamination in ground
water.
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Demonstration
of IFC in front of World Bank
head quarter, Washington
in demand, to stop funding for Indian River Interlink Project.
On
29 April 2005, Bangladeshis living abroad in New York and
Washington have organized a demonstration against Indian
River Interlink Project under the leadership of International
Farakka Committee (IFC). Bangladeshi students, engineers,
doctors and businessmen participated in this demonstration.
They had opposed the news of World Bank to finance the Indian
River Interlink Project. They raised their voice in slogans
calling the conscientious people from all over the world
to come forward and take part in the movemen "to save
Bangladesh Rivers". and also called the “World Bank
must stop funding and supporting the Indian River Interlink
Project”.
The demonstration was led by Mr. Atiqur Rahman Khan Eusufzai
Salu, Chairman, IFC NY, Inc. Among others spoke were, Mr.
Sayed Tipu Sultan, Secretary General of IFC, Mohammed Saleh,
Engineer Harish Ahmed and Engineer Dr Golam Farid Aktar,
advisors of IFC. They handed over a memorandum to the Vice
President of World Bank. The demonstration was held 12:00
PM to 2:00 PM.
Meeting
of IFC with the Officials of USA state department in Washington
in demand, to stop funding for Indian River Interlink Project.
On
29 April 2005, in the afternoon the leaders met the Director
of South Asian Desk, State Department of USA Government,
and handed over the memorandum and the publication/documentation
of the organization. The Director assured the IFC leaders
for extending all out support and assistance for proper
distribution of common river water, between India and Bangladesh.
On behalf of IFC the leaders invited the Director to join
in the proposed IFC conference in January 2006 in Dhaka,
Bangladesh involving the experts from India, Bangladesh,
China, Bhutan and Nepal.
After
that, the IFC leaders gave an interview with Voice of America
(VOA).
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