As India reviews Indus Water Treaty, China blocks Brahmaputra tributary
New Delhi: As India mulls scrapping Indus Waters Treaty to make Pakistan feel the pinch of its terror policy, China has blocked a tributary of the Brahmaputra river in Tibet as part of the construction of its “most expensive” hydro project which could cause concern in India as it may impact water flows into the lower riparian countries.
The Lalho project on Xiabuqu river, a tributary of Yarlung Zangbo (the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra), in Xigaze in Tibet involves an investment of 4.95 billion yuan (USD 740 million), Zhang Yunbao, head of the project’s administration bureau was quoted as saying by Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency today.
Xigaze also known as Shigatse is closely located to Sikkim. From Xigaze, the Brahmaputra flows into Arunachal Pradesh.
Terming it as the “most expensive project”, the report said the project, whose construction began in June 2014, was scheduled to be completed in 2019.
It is not clear yet what impact the blockade of the river will have on the flow of water from the Brahmaputra into the lower riparian countries like India and Bangladesh as a result, it said.
Last year, China had operationalised the US $1.5 billion Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet, built on the Brahmaputra river, which has raised concerns in India.
But China has been maintaining that it has taken into consideration India’s concerns and allays apprehensions of restricting the flow of water, saying its dams are run of the river projects not designed to hold water.
The outline of China’s 12th Five Year Plan indicates that three more hydropower projects on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra river in Tibet Autonomous Region have been approved for implementation.
In March, Union Minister of State for Water Resources Sanwar Lal Jat said in a statement that India had expressed its concerns to China about the likely impact of the dams.
While there is no water treaty between the countries, India and China established an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers and in October 2013 the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers under which Beijing provides data to India on the water flows.
The blockade of the Brahmaputra river tributary comes at a time when India’s reported decision to suspend talks with Pakistan under Indus Water Treaty as part of its efforts to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang gave a guarded reply when asked on September 27 about India’s reported move.
“As a friendly neighbour to both India and Pakistan, China hopes that India and Pakistan can properly address disputes and improve relations through dialogue and consultation, maintain and enhance all-round cooperation and join hands to promote regional peace, stability and development,” Shuang told PTI.
Some of the rivers under the Indus water treaty originate in China.
PTI
http://www.siasat.com/news/india-re...y-china-blocks-brahmaputra-tributary-1032181/
China blocks tributary of Brahmaputra in Tibet to build dam
China blocks tributary of Brahmaputra in Tibet to build dam
It is not clear yet what impact the blockade of the river will have on the flow of water from the Brahmaputra into the lower riparian countries like India and Bangladesh as a result.
By:
PTI | Beijing | Published:October 1, 2016 11:01 am
Last year, China had operationalised the USD 1.5 billion Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet, built on the Brahmaputra river, which has raised concerns in India.
China has blocked a tributary of the Brahmaputra river in Tibet as part of the construction of its “most expensive” hydro project which could cause concern in India as it may impact water flows into the lower riparian countries.
The Lalho project on Xiabuqu river, a tributary of Yarlung Zangbo (the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra), in Xigaze in Tibet involves an investment of 4.95 billion yuan (USD 740 million), Zhang Yunbao, head of the project’s administration bureau was quoted as saying by Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency on Saturday.
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Xigaze also known as Shigatse is closely located to Sikkim. From Xigaze, the Brahmaputra flows into Arunachal Pradesh.
Terming it as the “most expensive project”, the report said the project, whose construction began in June 2014, was scheduled to be completed in 2019.
It is not clear yet what impact the blockade of the river will have on the flow of water from the Brahmaputra into the lower riparian countries like India and Bangladesh as a result, it said.
Last year, China had operationalised the USD 1.5 billion Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet, built on the Brahmaputra river, which has raised concerns in India.
But China has been maintaining that it has taken into consideration India’s concerns and allays apprehensions of restricting the flow of water, saying its dams are run of the river projects not designed to hold water.
The outline of China’s 12th Five Year Plan indicates that three more hydropower projects on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra river in Tibet Autonomous Region have been approved for implementation.
In March, Union Minister of State for Water Resources Sanwar Lal Jat said in a statement that India had expressed its concerns to China about the likely impact of the dams.
While there is no water treaty between the countries, India and China established an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers and in October 2013 the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers under which Beijing provides data to India on the water flows.
The blockade of the Brahmaputra river tributary comes at a time when India’s reported decision to suspend talks with Pakistan under Indus Water Treaty as part of its efforts to hit back at Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang gave a guarded reply when asked on September 27 about India’s reported move.
“As a friendly neighbour to both India and Pakistan, China hopes that India and Pakistan can properly address disputes and improve relations through dialogue and consultation, maintain and enhance all-round cooperation and join hands to promote regional peace, stability and development,” Shuang told media. Some of the rivers under the Indus water treaty originate in China.
http://indianexpress.com/article/in...n-tibet-to-build-dam-impact-on-india-3059242/
China teases India again; blocks a Brahmaputra tributary in Tibet to build dam
China has blocked the flow of an important tributary of Brahmaputra river to construct its 'most expensive' dam in Tibet at a location very close to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
IndiaToday.in | Edited by Prabhash K Dutta
New Delhi, October 1, 2016 | UPDATED 13:22 IST
China firm to build mega dam in Azad Kashmir despite India's strong opposition
As India mulls utilizing its full entitlement under Indus Waters Treaty to make Pakistan feel the pinch of its terror policy, China has teased India again in Tibet. China has blocked an important tributary of Brahmaputra river to construct a dam in Tibet.
The state-run news agency of China, Xinhua has reported that China "on Friday blocked a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo (the Tibetan name for Brahmaputra) River as part of its most expensive hydro project." The hydel power project is cause of concern for India as the dam may impact the flow of water into the lower riparian countries including Bangladesh.
HYDEL PROJECT A BIG CONCERN
"The Lalho project on the Xiabuqu River in Xigaze (which is very close to Sikkim), involves an investment of 4.95 billion yuan (740 million U.S. dollars)," Xinhua reported.
Xigaze is also known as Shigatse and it is from this location Brahmaputra flows into Arunachal Pradesh.
The hydel project was launched in June, 2014 and scheduled to be completed in 2019. Its reservoir was designed to store up to 295 million cubic meters of water, the agency reported.
NOT THE FIRST DAM
This is not the first time that China has tried to alter the flow of rivers, flowing into India. In 2015, China operationlised the largest hydel project in Tibet, Zam Hydropower Station, built on Brahamputra river.
Though, China has maintained that its dams are run of the river projects, which are not designed to hold water, India has expressed deep concern over the implementation of the hydel project. The hydropower project on Brahmaputra or its tributaries make the northeastern states vulnerable for both untimely flood and lack of water.
NO WATER TREATY
There is no water treaty between India and China but the two countries have devised an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on trans-border rivers. The two governments signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers under which Beijing provides data to India on the water flows.
China's decision to block a Brahmaputra tributary came at a time when India has mounted diplomatic and strategic offensive against Pakistan in the aftermath of Uri terror attack, in which 19 jawans lost their lives. China's response to Uri attack and subsequent developments has been very guarded.
Some of the rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty originate in Tibet including Indus and Satluj.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...dam-lalho-project-xiabuqu-river/1/777667.html
