China constructing world's largest dam on Brahmaputra could reduce flooding in Assam every year: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Brahmaputra
, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma there are two scientific aspects to the dam, one is reducing the amount of flooding that affects Assam every year.
During an inauguration ceremony in Guwahati, Sarma said that there are two types of "views", one which if China builds a dam the biodiversity may be affected however there is another view "if less water comes it will also act as a flood protection."
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Sarma said that scientifically," We are not pretty sure which is correct. So, the Government of India will act accordingly."
Sarma said 'The Brahmaputra receives most of its water from Bhutan,
Arunachal Pradesh
, and rainfall in Assam itself. Scientifically, the river is largely fed by indigenous sources.'
Admitting that Chinese activities upstream could potentially affect the river's biodiversity, the Chief Minister also noted a differing perspective — that reduced water flow might help cushion the impact of floods, a frequent problem in Assam.
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He said the Centre is either already in talks with China or will soon initiate dialogue regarding the dam issue. 'Immediately, I am not worried,' Sarma added. 'Brahmaputra is a mighty river and not dependent on a single source.'
Tsangpo River is known as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Brahmaputra in Assam and Jamuna in Bangladesh, and it flows through the neighbouring country (Bangladesh) before joining the Bay of Bengal.
Recently, the Arunachal Pradesh government expressed concern regarding China's massive $137-billion hydroelectric dam project, which is set to produce 60,000 MW of electricity over the Yarlung Tsangpo River, in the upper reaches of
Siang River
in China.
Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, Chowna Mein had said that the Government of India has proposed the Upper Siang Multipurpose Project, a dam on the Siang River, which has the potential to generate up to 11,000 MW of electricity.
While sharing some observations made by experts on the environmental impact in the region of such a massive hydropower project over Tsangpo river, the Deputy Chief Minister said that if the China builds the dam over Yarlung Tsangpo river and diverts its water, it will dry up the Siang river and its distributaries affecting the aquatic life of the river and the large population in the plains of Assam and Bangladesh which depends on Brahmaputra river for the irrigation of their agricultural fields.
On the other hand, if any conflict arises between the two nations in future, it may release a large volume of water from the dam, which would cause unpredicted flooding in the downstream areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam causing loss of lives and properties.
He said that the implications of such a massive project over the Tsangpo river by the Chinese government cannot be ignored and asserted that in both the cases, the downstream people will be affected adversely. Considering all these factors, the Government of India has proposed the Upper Siang Multipurpose Project, a dam on the Siang River. The project is a crucial initiative aimed at mitigating the impacts of downstream flooding in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Bangladesh and other environmental issues. The objective of the project is safety and security of the downstream people and to address other environmental issues, he said.
He said that the power generation is secondary and would be a byproduct of the project. He added that during the lean period, the project will act as a storage for the rainwater that falls in the Indian territory preventing the river water in Siang from drying up and in case of the release of large volume of water by China, the dam in the Siang river will act as a deterrent and release the water in a controlled way thereby moderating flood in the downstream.
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