India Preempts China's Attempt To Weaponise The Brahmaputra, Plans Its Own Dam In Arunachal

In a direct response to China's decision to build a massive dam on the mighty Brahmaputra river which flows into India from the Tibet region which is under Chinese control, India is considering a massive 10 Gigawatt (GW) hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh, reports Economic Times.

The development comes as India looks to offset any adverse impact of the dam being built by the Chinese establishment on the water flows into Indian territory. Indian authorities fear that the erection of Chinese projects on the Brahmaputra could trigger flash floods, or also create water scarcity.

The proposal for the building of the massive dam as an answer to China is presently under consideration at the highest level in the Government. As a part of the project, India will build a large water storage capacity to offset any adverse impact on water flows.

It should be noted that in Tibet, the river is called Yarlung Tsangbo. It flows from there into Arunachal Pradesh into India, goes down to Assam, and finally enters Bangladesh. China's dam-building has also drawn concerns from Bangladesh.

The secretary general of Bangladesh's Environment Campaigners Riverine People has pressed that multilateral discussion should be held before China builds any dams as China's downstream neighbours have legitimate cause for concern given the water flows will be disrupted.