| suva chintak |
Posted
on 16-Nov-03 07:27 PM
Indian hegemony? Indian Colonialism?
Why has India been blocking the construction of the Sikta Irrigation Project in Western Nepal? What rights does India have to interfer in the utilization of Nepali water resources in Nepal? Working behind the scene, India has been blocking the completion of the Sikta project in Banke district for the past 20 years!! Just imagine how much loss that has been for Nepali economy.
The present EU effort to revive the important project will only succeed only if all the political parties, civil society, NGOs, and human rights organization make an unanimous call on India to lift its sinister policy to derail the project. People and organizations who want to see Nepal's development and prosperity need to speak up now!
India, hands off Nepal!!
Read the news from Info-Nepal.com:
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EC allays fears on Sikta project
KOL Report
KATHMANDU, Nov 17 - The acting Charge d’ Affaires of the European Commission (EC) on Friday denied there were any obstacles in the smooth progress of Sikta irrigation project, with EC keen to funnel the fund it has pledged for the project. The project is estimated to cost US$ 100 million.
“I am sure the project should take off within a year, with the Indian side not seeing anything wrong with the project,†said Rudiger Wenk, while referring to the project which is expected to irrigate nearly 37 thousand hectares of land in the western Terai region.
Wenk, however, hastened on to add that the progress of the project would depend on how fast the team works, with team leader expected to be here soon.
As Wenk further added “this will be followed by sorting out further nitty-gritty of the project, which is receiving fund from the EC and Saudi government also.â€
While the EC commitment in the form of grant adds up to 40 million euros, the Saudi commitment has been put at US$ 25 at the most. However, the project is likely to go to the implementation stage by next October at the latest, although, as Wenk said, it could be ready to go into implementation earlier than that also.
Wenk discounted the apprehensions that the Indian side could still raise obstacles ruling out any early implementation of the project. “I am sure the Indian side should not have any problems. At least we have not yet been told about any complications by the Indian side after their Lucknow meeting,†Wenk further said. (yo)
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