India on alert regarding China’s proposed dam on Brahmaputra river: Rajnath Singh
Concerns have been raised in India about the hydropower project enabling China to flood border areas during times of conflict.
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that New Delhi is on alert regarding China’s plan to build a dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the border with India.
“The Indian government is on alert,” Singh said at an event in Agra when asked about the Chinese project.
On December 25, Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua reported that Beijing had approved the construction of a hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo, which is the Tibetan name of the Brahmaputra.
First announced in 2020, it is touted to be the world’s most expensive infrastructure project with a cost of $137 billion. It is unclear when the project’s construction is due to begin.
The dam is to be built at a gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra makes a U-turn to flow into Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and then into Bangladesh, The Indian Express reported.
However, concerns have been raised in India and Bangladesh about the project. Critics say that the dam could potentially alter local ecologies and change the flow and course of the river, affecting millions living in the agricultural plains downstream.
The dam could also enable Beijing to release vast amounts of water and flood border areas during times of conflict, PTI reported.
On Friday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the Indian government had consistently raised...
