Assam worried for China's planned dam

The government of northeastern Indian state of Assam is seriously concerned over the reported construction of a dam by China on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, the source of the river Brahmaputra.Tarun Gogoi, chief minister of Assam, yesterday said, "The Assam government is seriously concerned about the construction of a dam by China over Yarlung Tsangpo. We apprehend it will affect Assam and dry up the river Brahmaputra and other water resources downstream." Experts say construction of a dam on the 1625-km Brahmaputra in the

Tibet Autonomous Region would seriously impact the socio-economic condition of the people in Assam where the river flows for 918 km before entering Bangladesh. He said he would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Water Resources Minister for taking up the issue with China."Earlier, I had taken it up with the prime minister who took it up with his Chinese counterpart. China has denied that the dam would affect Assam or any other part of India", Gogoi said.The chief minister said the state would set up an expert committee to go into what measures needed to be taken in the eventuality of China constructing the dam.China's reported plans of building a dam over the Brahmaputra river and diverting water to its arid provinces have been opposed by the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments. "Largescale diversion of water would adversely hit the state's economy and could even lead to environmental problems and affect the surface water table in the (Indian) northeast," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told journalists Friday.

The warning follows media reports that Beijing was planning a $167 million hydropower plant in Zangmu, 140 km southeast of Tibet's capital Lhasa, besides diverting water to its parched northwest and northeast territories which includes the Gobi desert. The 2,906-km long Brahmaputra is one of Asia's largest rivers that flows the first stretch of 1,625 km in China's Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through Bangladesh before converging into the Bay of Bengal. "It would be a gross violation of international protocol if China arbitrarily constructs the dam," Congress MP from Arunachal Pradesh Takam Sanjay said. "We are going to seek the prime minister's intervention to ensure that China does not construct the dam.

It would have devastating impact on Assam," the chief minister said. Experts feel that a dam on the Brahmaputra would have a cascading impact in the northeast and even in Bangladesh. "We are worried as many areas in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and even Bangladesh would go dry if the Chinese went ahead with their plans. This move would severely affect water flow to the region which in turn would adversely affect agriculture," said Sapna Devi, a geologist. According to media reports,

China was planning to divert 200 billion cubic metres of water to feed the Yellow River in an attempt at easing acute water shortage in Shaanxi, Hebel, Beijing and Tianjin. The Brahmaputra is the lifeline for a vast majority of the people in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bangladesh. Most of them depend on the river to irrigate their fields, fishing and transportation of goods. Agriculture forms the backbone of the economies in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with nearly 80 percent of the 28 million people in the two states eking out a living through farming. There has been no official reaction from Beijing to India's concern about damming the Brahmaputra.