Himanta Sarma Talks About Dangers Posed By China's Proposed Biggest Dam On Brahmaputra

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that China building world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra  river in Tibet is a big concern for India adding if this dam comes up then the Brahmaputra river system will become completely fragile.

“This is a big concern for India, if this dam comes up then the Brahmaputra river system will become completely fragile and dry. It will only depend on rain water from Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh and if they won't get enough rain, the Brahmaputra will get completely  dried up,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

So this is a big problem for us. We have raised our concerns with the government and as per my knowledge, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu has also raised the issue with the government of India, Himanta Biswa Sarma added.

The Assam chief minister further said that the matter is already in government's notice which has communicated its concerns to the  Chinese side. The issue will be raised in the dialogue process which is currently taking place.

During an interaction with reporters, Sarma said the Centre has communicated to China the dangers posed by the dam in the lower reaches of the river.

“The dam will pose a big problem for us as the riverbed will dry up and the entire river system will become fragile. We have already raised the matter with the Centre,” he said.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has also written to the Centre about the matter, Sarma added.

China approves construction of world's largest dam 

Last week, China approved the construction of the world's largest dam, stated to be the planet's biggest infra project, on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the Indian border, raising concerns in India and Bangladesh.

The hydropower project will be built in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo river, the Tibetan name for the Brahmaputra.

The dam will be built at a huge gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra river makes a huge U-turn to flow into Arunachal Pradesh and then to Bangladesh, an official release had said.

With inputs from PTI