GUWAHATI: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has described China’s mega dam project as a ticking “water bomb” and an existential threat to the people of the frontier state and their livelihoods.Speaking to a news outlet, Khandu said the dam was a matter of grave concern, noting that China is not a signatory to any international water treaty and cannot be trusted. “No one knows what China might do. It could even use this as a sort of water bomb,” he said.The hydropower dam, expected to be the world’s largest of its kind, will generate 60,000 MW of power. The project is coming up on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which enters Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang and becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam before flowing into Bangladesh.Khandu said India would have no concerns if China had signed an international water treaty. “…Suppose the dam is built and they suddenly release water, our entire Siang belt would be destroyed,” he said.In response to the perceived threat, Khandu said the Arunachal government, in consultation with the Centre, had proposed the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, both as a defensive measure and to ensure water security. However, local communities have opposed the project and have staged a series of protests in the past.The chief minister said he was uncertain whether construction on the Chinese dam had begun, pointing out that the country does not share any information. He has consistently expressed concern that the project could reduce water flow in the Siang and Brahmaputra rivers.Speaking at a seminar titled “Environment and Security” in the Arunachal Assembly in January, he had said the dam would allow China to control both the timing and volume of water flowing downstream.“The Chinese dam poses significant risks to the water security, ecology, and livelihoods of millions of people downstream in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Bangladesh. The potential disruption of water flow, flooding, and ecosystem degradation could have far-reaching consequences on us,” Khandu had said.While he has raised alarm over the possibility of China drying up the Siang and Brahmaputra, his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma said last month that China contributes only 30-35% of the Brahmaputra’s total flow, mostly through glacial melt and limited Tibetan rainfall.Sarma added that the remaining 65-70% of the river’s water is generated within India, largely due to monsoon rainfall and major tributaries.
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