Another landslide in Tibet blocks Yarlung Tsangpo

DHARAMSALA, Oct 18: As many as 6,000 people from Menling County in the Traditional Tibetan Province of U-Tsang had been evacuated after a landslide had blocked the Yarlung Tsangpo, China’s emergency services announced earlier today.

The landslide reportedly struck during the early hours of the day on Oct 17 near a village in Menling County and it had blocked the waterway, according to the regional water resources department.

The water level in the lake had risen 40 meters, and the amount of water reached 150 million cubic meters, the department had said.

Though there were no reports of deaths or injuries after the landslide, it is the second landslide that has rocked the Tibet. A massive landslide hit Derge in the Traditional Tibetan province of Kham and completely blocked the Dri Chu river earlier this week on Oct 11.

Landslide and flooding of villages in Tibet are linked to Chinese construction projects, the London-based advocacy group Free Tibet said on Oct 15 after the landslide that cut off Drichu.

“Chinese authorities have been conducting excessive mining, development and dam construction projects in the area which, according to the local population, are directly linked to the increased occurrences of flooding, particularly in the regions of Karze and Ngawa. Chinese sources claim these incidents are natural and unrelated,” Free Tibet stated

The group further noted that of late, China’s exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources has gathered pace significantly.

The ill-advised developmental projects being carried out in Tibet by the Chinese regime at the cost of the fragile Tibetan environment.