China is making ‘water bombs’, why is there great tension for India, understand the whole thing

New Delhi: China is preparing to build the world’s largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet. This is a matter of concern for India and Bangladesh. China says that this will not affect the low-lying areas. But Indian experts do not believe in this. They consider it a strategic threat. This step of China has raised the possibility of turning water into a weapon. With this $137 billion dam, China can either flood Assam or drain it by closing the taps. There is no agreement between India and China regarding water sharing. China has previously refused to share water data. India is planning to build a dam in Arunachal Pradesh to deal with this impact.

There may be water crisis in India and Bangladesh

This plan of China has been revealed at a time when India and China are in talks to resolve the border dispute. This may increase tension in the relations between the two countries. This plan of China may cause water shortage in India and Bangladesh. This may also increase the risk of floods. This step of China can also harm the environment.

Experts are expressing concern

Indian experts say that this step of China is a warning. India should also consider the construction of water infrastructure on the Himalayan rivers as strategically important. India is planning to build a multipurpose reservoir in Arunachal Pradesh. This reservoir will help in reducing the impact of China’s dam.

China had proposed this mega dam in the 14th five-year plan in 2020. According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, the project is in a location where earthquakes can occur. This poses a threat of ‘water bomb’ for the low-lying areas of India.

• What: A massive dam costing $137 billion, the world’s largest infrastructure project.
• Where: At Namcha Barwa Mountain in Tibet, where the Brahmaputra River takes a U-turn to flow into India (Arunachal Pradesh and Assam) and then into Bangladesh.
• Why: It can generate 300 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, three times more than China’s largest dam to date, the Three Gorges Dam (88.2 billion kWh), which would meet the needs of 300 million people.
• How: Four to six 20 km long tunnels will be dug through the mountain to divert half the river’s flow at a rate of about 2,000 cubic meters per second.
• When: It is not clear when the construction work will start.

Chinese dam becomes cause of earthquake and tsunami

A 2012 report by the Canadian NGO Probe International warned that more than 130 large dams being built in western China could cause earthquakes and tsunamis. According to the report, 98.6% of dams are being built in seismic zones. China commissioned the $1.5 billion Zam Hydropower Station in 2015, Tibet’s largest to date.

India has always been suspicious of China’s dam construction activities. China has not been clear about its dam construction. he/she has been avoiding giving information about such products. In 2010, after many years of denial, China finally admitted that it was building the Zangmu Dam on the Brahmaputra.

China rejected India’s concerns

Although China has dismissed India’s concerns over water diversion, hoarding and releases, officials here have taken the assurances with skepticism. In 2014, the then Modi government had asked the Water Resources Ministry to verify whether the dams built on the Brahmaputra were actually run-of-river (where water is released back after use) or storage dams.

China can convert its dam into storage

According to a report by the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defense Studies and Analyzes (MPIDSA), the dams built by China are so large that they can be converted into storage dams, allowing it to manipulate water resources for the purpose of food control or irrigation. . In such a situation, China could potentially deprive India of water during the dry season.

Risk of flood may increase

India is also concerned about releasing water during the monsoon, which could flood the already flooded Brahmaputra. For example, there are heavy floods every year in Assam. The state has raised concerns with the Center about China’s dam construction activities.

Previously unknown Chinese upstream activities have caused flash floods in Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and recently turned Sinaag waters dirty and brown as they entered India. The Assam government said in 2017 that the Siang River (as the Brahmaputra is known in Arunachal) was turning black from pollutants, and samples of river water in Tezpur showed that the water contained large amounts of trace minerals.

Agriculture can also be harmed due to dam construction

Even experts pointed out that dam construction could cause the river to lose its silt and agricultural productivity could reduce. In fact, China’s unilateralism is such that to complete a large dam project it stopped the flow of the Xiabuku, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, in 2016 and then dammed another such tributary, the Lhasa River, into a series of artificial lakes. Started tying.

India also made this plan

India initiated plans to build a reservoir in Arunachal Pradesh to counter the impact of a proposed dam by China. But the survey for this project has not started yet, local protests have started. People of Siang and Upper Siang districts of the state fear large-scale displacement as well as adverse environmental impacts from the proposed 11,000 MW hydroelectric project.

India’s project against China’s weapons

Senior journalist and foreign policy expert Pranab Dhal Samanta writes in his/her column in The Economic Times, ‘The large storage of water in the Upper Siang project will cover these (non-monsoon) months and help the local population. This will be an effective project against the possibility of China making weapons before reaching Yarlung Tsangpo in India.

What is the option to challenge China’s tactics?

According to Samantha, ‘India has no option but to build hydropower projects with strategic measures to challenge China’s tactics. China seems to have fully incorporated Sun Tzu’s ‘The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he/she cannot understand our true intentions’ ancient war lesson into its 21st century politics and foreign policy.

Dam can be made a political weapon

Dams, canals and irrigation systems can turn water into a political weapon that can be used in war, or during peace, to exert influence over a co-riparian state. The mighty Brahmaputra, one of the longest rivers in the world, flows into Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet (China). China acts as an ‘upstream’ state that controls water resources upstream and ignores the concerns of downstream countries (in this case India and Bangladesh).

China has increased investment in dams

Over the past few years, China has invested heavily in building dams and has avoided entering into any water-sharing agreements with downstream countries like India. According to the MPIDSA report, China completed the construction of the Zangmu Dam (510MW capacity) on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra in 2010. Three more dams are under construction at Dagu (640MW), Jiacha (320MW) and Jexu.

Earlier, a study funded by the US government found that a series of new dams built by China on the Mekong River have worsened the drought affecting downstream countries.

There is no water treaty between India and China

Although there is no water treaty between India and China, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2002 to exchange water-related data. Under the agreement, China agreed to share information about water discharge at the three stations from June 1 to October 15 every year.

The data is considered important for flood control and planning during monsoon in India. However, when relations between the two countries deteriorated during the months-long Doklam standoff in 2017, China refused to share this data, an action that weakened downstream flood early warning systems, resulting in Preventable deaths occurred in Assam.

Arunachal MP had also expressed concern

The move sparked fears that China could use its upstream position for strategic advantage. Data sharing resumed in 2018, but India knows that China will not hesitate to use water as a political weapon if needed. Earlier this year, Ninong Ering, an MP from Arunachal Pradesh, had raised the issue of China’s dam construction activities in Parliament. he/she said, ‘We are our neighbors [चीन] But can’t trust. You never know what they can do.’