After Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu has raised concern about China’s plan to construct the largest hydropower dam in eastern Tibet, warning that it could be used by Beijing as a “water bomb”.
Speaking at the inaugural function of a seminar titled ‘Environment and Security’ in the state Legislative Assembly complex on Friday, Mr Khandu drew the attention of all stakeholders towards the Chinese plan to construct the hydropower project – which can generate 60,000 MW of power – on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang river and becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam before flowing into Bangladesh.
Speaking to reporters later, the chief minister said in Hindi, “60,000 MW… this is out of context. If such a big mega project is constructed there, it will have a big impact on the ecology of areas around the Siang and the Brahmaputra. This is a big threat and, if China uses this as a water bomb, the Adi tribe that we have in the Siang belt will disappear and lakhs of people will lose their lives in Assam… it will go till Bangladesh.”
Mr Khandu said that, keeping China’s activities in mind, the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project – which will involve the construction of dams to generate 11,000 MW of hydroelectric power project – as a national project.
“I am talking to stakeholders about this so that we can maintain our water security and defend against China’s dam being used as a water bomb. We can’t trust China. We promote peace and non-violence and want good relations but, given the history, can we rely on China? That is a big question mark. Look at their expansionist theory, their overexploitation of natural resources in Tibet and their recent declaration of ‘counties’ including parts of Ladakh. So we can’t rely on China,” he said.
The chief minister said the Ministry of External Affairs is discussing the dam issue with China through diplomatic channels but insisted that it is important to “be prepared”.
Impact
Mr Khandu pointed out that the dam would allow China to control the timing and volume of water flowing downstream, which could have devastating effects during periods of low flow or drought. The mighty Siang and Brahmaputra rivers could dry up during winters, disrupting life in the Siang belt and the plains of Assam, he cautioned.
Conversely, Mr Khandu said, sudden releases of water from the dam could cause severe flooding downstream, particularly during the monsoon, displacing communities, destroying crops and damaging infrastructure. The dam, he emphasised, would alter the sediment flow, affecting agricultural lands that rely on the river’s natural replenishment of nutrients.
‘Communicated Concern’
The proposed dam, whose construction was approved by the Chinese government in December, will span a gorge in the Himalayas in eastern Tibet, where the Brahmaputra River makes a U-turn to flow into Arunachal Pradesh.
Asked about the dam’s possible impact on Assam earlier this month, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said, “As far as we are concerned, we have already communicated that if this dam comes up, the Brahmaputra ecosystem will become completely fragile, it will become dry and we will only depend on the rainwater of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.”
“The Government of India has already communicated its concern to the Chinese side. And I am sure that in the dialogue process which is presently going on between India and China, this will be definitely raised by the Indian side,” he had added.
