---- Forwarded Message -----
From: Kyaw Than <dawnstar88@gmail.com>
To: absl_india88 <absl_india88@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, 3 May 2012 11:04 AM
Subject: India-Myanmar transport project hits roadblock
From: Kyaw Than <dawnstar88@gmail.com>
To: absl_india88 <absl_india88@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, 3 May 2012 11:04 AM
Subject: India-Myanmar transport project hits roadblock
India-Myanmar transport project hits
roadblock
Sandeep Dikshit NEW DELHI, May 2,
2012
Government departments working at
cross purposes
A few weeks ahead of Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh's maiden visit to Myanmar, India's showpiece joint venture that
will provide an alternative route to the northeastern States is in trouble.
Finalised after years of tough
negotiations, during which the then External Affairs Minister, Pranab
Mukherjee, ensured a breakthrough, the Kaladan multimodal transport project —
which has already suffered cost overruns and delays — has landed in fresh
problems because government departments have been working at cross purposes.
The project has been hailed as
strategically significant because it will take the pressure off the sole route
connecting the Indian mainland with the northeast via the Siliguri corridor. It
was conceived at a time when New Delhi's ties with Dhaka were frosty and its
signing in 2008 was stated to convey a strong message to Bangladesh that its
withholding transit would not mean India did not have an alternative.
But now the Kaladan project is
facing problems such as underestimation of the road length in Myanmar. Added to
that South Block has come up against a bigger roadblock because the Power
Ministry did not share with it information about plans to construct
hydro-electric projects — Chhimtuipui and Lungleng — on two tributaries of the
Kaladan river followed by another project downstream. That the first two
projects are being built by one public sector undertaking and the third is
being constructed by another PSU has also led to coordination issues.
The projects are located on the
tributaries of the Kaladan on the international boundary between the two
countries and involve some submergence within Myanmar territory. The Power
Ministry has now asked the External Affairs Ministry to take up the issue with
Myanmar.
This request not only displeased
South Block but also led it to enquire about the impact of these projects on
the Kaladan multimodal transport project. The External Affairs Ministry was
informed that these two projects were conceived under the Prime Minister's
Hydro Power Initiative and that there was a third project as well —
Kolodyne-II, downstream.
Cleared late last year, Kolodyne-II
must release about 80 cumecs (cubic metre per second) in the river to maintain
the necessary depth of water for movement of ships in downstream reaches since
navigation is an integral part of the Kaladan project.
While the Chhimtuipui and Lungleng
projects have been planned as storage schemes, water release would not impact
the Kaladan project. However, in case Kolodyne-II does not come up, necessary
releases for navigation may have to be ensured from theChhimtuipui and Lungleng
projects.
And if that is not possible, more
work will be in the offing — a barrage would be required based on the discharge
for navigation to ensure peaking operation of these projects.
This means that unless corrective
measures are taken immediately and additional funds released, the Kaladan
project may suffer another setback.
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