ITCM Delegation Urges PM Modi to Address China’s Yarlung Tsangpo Dam Project
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, Dec 31: A delegation of the India-Tibet Cooperation Movement (ITCM), Vidarbha unit, submitted a memorandum to Nagpur District Collector Vipin Itankar today, urging India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take urgent steps against China’s recent approval of the construction of a massive hydropower project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, reported The Times of India.
The delegation included ITCM Maharashtra President Prof. Vijay Kewalramani, Secretary Sapna Talreja, Maharashtra Women Wing Chief Kailash Kewalramani, and Secretary of Vidarbha Province as well as Regional Coordinator Sandesh Meshram, along with Nagpur President Omprakash Shahu and Tenzin Dasang, Tsering Tashi, Nyima Dolma, and Woser Dorjee from Regional Tibetan Youth Congress.
According to the report, the group urged the Indian government to pay serious attention to the matter and start bilateral dialogue with China on the issue. It further suggested India raise the issue in the United Nations and other international forums to bring global recognition and support to avoid the negative impacts of the project.
The memorandum outlined the significance of the Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra) as a lifeline for the northeastern states of India and Bangladesh. The river basin is shared by six Indian states, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, and West Bengal.
Dechen Palmo, a researcher at the Central Tibetan Administration’s Tibet Policy Institute focused on China’s dam construction in occupied Tibet, wrote that the river is especially important for the socio-economic life of the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, whose livelihood depends on the river. Twenty-four of 34 districts in Assam use the river water for raising cattle, fishing, cultivation, irrigation, and riverine transport.
There is also growing concern among the riparian states about the weaponization of water by China. Prof. Vijay has said in the report that, “The whole world is aware of China’s expansionist and destructive policies. The dam is more dangerous than a nuclear bomb. China can create a situation of flood and great destruction at any time.”
Kewalramani from the delegation warned against the upcoming economic crisis in India as a consequence of water being used as a political weapon. He stated, “If China succeeds in building a dam on the Brahmaputra, it will use it as a political weapon against India and Bangladesh, and China will control both devastating conditions of drought and floods as per its will. Due to this, the situation of livelihood and economic crisis in India cannot be denied in the coming times.”
The Yarlung Tsangpo River is one of the main international rivers identified for hydropower expansion in occupied Tibet under China’s 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans, which called for large-scale expansion of hydropower projects in its southwest region. China has already completed the construction of two large dams on the river: Zangmu and Jiacha Dam.
