In the wake of India’s recent hostile policy towards Pakistan and as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers revoking the Indus Water Treaty in bid to inflame and retaliate to Pakistan, China has already blocked a tributary of the Brahmaputra river in Tibet as part of the construction of its “most expensive” hydro project+, causing a serious concern in India as it may impact water flows into the lower riparian countries.
A habitual rival of India, China is often called ‘counteragent’ of the region in context of India-Pakistan tensions and rivalry.
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Indian leading newspaper, Times of India raised some serious concerns regarding China’s decision to build a massive at the expense of Indian river.
Following are the serious concerns raised by the paper:
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1. The dam is a serious concern because because there are no bilateral or multilateral treaties on the water
2. Building a dam on the Brahmaputra, helps Chine to assert claim over Arunachal Pradesh
3. The dam including other similar projects in the Tibetan plateau can reduce river flows into India
4. Dams, canals, irrigation systems can be used as political weapon to be utilized in war, or during peace to signal annoyance with a co-riparian state
5. Denial of hydrological data becomes critical when the flow in the river is very high
6. China is contemplating northward re-routing of the Yarlung Zangbo+
7.China’s reluctance to discuss the project in public indicates the threat that project implies devastating India’s northeastern plains and Bangladesh, either with floods or reduced water flow
8.In 2001, an artifical dam in Tibet collapsed and killed 26 people and damaged property of Rs 140 crore along the river Siang in Arunachal Pradesh
