Team News Riveting
In what could be seen as India’s meticulous plan to counter China’s water security threat, a major dam would come on River Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Centre is working out a plan to build India’s second-largest dam on River Brahmaputra at Yingkiong in Arunachal Pradesh. The proposed dam would store around 10 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water and would entail an investment of Rs 50,000 crore.
According to foreign affairs expert, the dam would be a response to Chinese plans to construct huge dams on River Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo in China). While 75 per cent of the water that flows in River Brahmaputra comes from catchment areas in India, a major part of the water in the non-monsoon season is received from snowmelt in Tibet. China is eyeing to store or divert the river water in the Brahmaputra that may challenge the water security of India’s North-East region and Bangladesh.
Besides hydropower generation, dam proposed at Yingkiong in Arunachal Pradesh is expected to bolster water security as water can be stored in the rainy season.
Also, the government estimates that dam construction in the upper reaches of Arunachal would lessen the effects of floods and China’s capability to persuade it.
“We have planned a project for its (China’s dam-building plans) mitigation in Yingkiong for constructing a dam in the upper reaches of Arunachal Pradesh. And probably that is going to be one of India’s largest dams. We will hold water in that and will release it in the lean season when there is no rainfall to provide us (water) security,” Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told a leading national newspaper.
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