Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Minister for External Affairs, Mr SM Krishna, have assured the country that China is doing nothing that could possibly harm India’s interest with respect to sharing, or worse still, diverting the water of Brahmaputra. Unfortunately, this has done little to allay the fears of security strategists who worry that China is slowly but steadily inching towards Indian territory. During Question Hour in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Mr Singh responded to queries from the Opposition regarding Zangmu Dam in Tibet by saying that he has received official word from the highest levels of the Chinese leadership that the dam is only a run-of-the-river hydro-electric project that is not in conflict with Indian interests. India hopes that Mr Singh and Mr Krishna have good reason to trust the Chinese leadership and, perhaps, we should take comfort in the fact that New Delhi has reportedly verified Beijing’s assurance on Zangmu Dam through satellite images. Either way, the incident has once again brought to the fore the debate on China’s increasingly expansionist tendencies and India’s constant failure to rise to the occasion and secure its interests, be it with regard to water-sharing, climate change, terrorism or even crucial border issues. Take Zangmu Dam for instance: The first dam to be ever built on the mighty Brahmaputra, it is no doubt a 540 MW run-of-the-river power project but it is also one of six such dams — others will be located at Lengda, Zhongda, Langzhen, Jiexu and Jiacha — that China is planning to construct further upstream on Yarlung Tsangpo, which is what Brahmaputra is called in Tibet. Feasibility studies for these have already been completed and it is only a matter of time before work begins on these projects.
The proposed dams on Yarlung Tsangpo will reduce the water flow into Brahmaputra by an estimated 20 to 30 per cent, especially between the shoulder months of May and June and September and October. This is bound to have an adverse impact on India’s North-East which is already struggling with stretched water resources. The pressures of a growing population and increasing demands from the agricultural sector will only make the situation untenable. It is, therefore, imperative that the Government formulate a comprehensive policy — India does not even have a water-sharing treaty with China — and implement it effectively. Or else, the day isn’t too far when China, desperate to find water for its people and prevent desertification of large parts of the country, will embark upon fulfilling it’s long-cherished dream of tapping Yarlung Tsangpo right before it plunges off the Himalayan roof to the floodplains of the Indian sub-continent. By then it would be too late for India to do anything.
The proposed dams on Yarlung Tsangpo will reduce the water flow into Brahmaputra by an estimated 20 to 30 per cent, especially between the shoulder months of May and June and September and October. This is bound to have an adverse impact on India’s North-East which is already struggling with stretched water resources. The pressures of a growing population and increasing demands from the agricultural sector will only make the situation untenable. It is, therefore, imperative that the Government formulate a comprehensive policy — India does not even have a water-sharing treaty with China — and implement it effectively. Or else, the day isn’t too far when China, desperate to find water for its people and prevent desertification of large parts of the country, will embark upon fulfilling it’s long-cherished dream of tapping Yarlung Tsangpo right before it plunges off the Himalayan roof to the floodplains of the Indian sub-continent. By then it would be too late for India to do anything.
