Bangladesh has denied it is backing up the the river linking project the Indian government has initiated. Speaking to the press on the occasion of informal talks between Nepal and Bangladesh on this issue, said Bangladesh's water resources minister Hafizuddin Ahmed, "The project will also affect upstream nations like Nepal.' Claiming that the project, if implemented, would hit about 20 million Bangladeshis, he feared that the water supply to Bangladesh could reduce drastically. Since Bangladesh receives nearly 65 per cent of its water from rivers that emanate in Tibet and flow down, any obstruction could set in a crisis. He said the issue was best sorted out by discussions.