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China Confesses to Brahmaputra Dam

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NEW DELHI: After several years of denying the existence of any river project on the Brahmaputra, China has finally admitted to India that they are indeed building a hydropower project on the river.

The admission, made for the first time by Chinese officials to India during the recent visit by foreign minister S M Krishna to Beijing, has brought a measure of transparency between the two countries, but also focused Indian interest in China's river activities, particularly Brahmaputra.

Satellite pictures had picked up the construction of a dam in Zangmu, in the Lhokha prefecture of Tibet, but even as late as 2009, China denied that such a project was underway. However, the qualitative improvement of ties between Beijing and Delhi as a result of some unprecedented cooperation during the Copenhagen climate summit appears to have cleared the air across the Himalayas.

This time, China said it was constructing a hydropower project in Zangmu -- there will be four more -- on the Brahmaputra. But this would not involve storage of water and was a run-of-the-river project, all inside Chinese territory. China also made it clear that they didn't really have to share their plans with India, but they were doing it out of a sense of "trust". The 510 mw project is being built by Gezhouba, one of China's biggest dam-building companies.

India and China have no water-sharing agreements, so it will be a first, when next week, Indian and Chinese water experts ink an "implementation plan" to share hydrological data on the Sutlej and Brahmaputra rivers. These agreements were signed in 2005 and 2008, but China had refused to share anything because there was no "plan". The first lot of data will flow from China to India later this year.

There have been reports that these projects are the beginning of a much bigger plan by China to divert the waters of the Brahmaputra to feed its parched northeast, an ambitious and technically challenging plan, called the Western Canal, that many Chinese reports say will be completed by 2050.

However, China has officially clarified that such reports aren't "consistent with facts". Answering questions on this in Parliament on Wednesday, Krishna said, "In November 2009, the foreign ministry of China clarified that China is a responsible country and would never do anything to undermine any other country's interests."

While India will celebrate the improved trust quotient with China, in reality, it cannot make a huge hue and cry over these projects of an upper riparian state. As an upper riparian state on the Indus itself, India is building similar hydropower projects which has Pakistan screaming blue murder and threatening terrorist action.

China admits to Brahmaputra project - India - The Times of India
 
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Its only a run-of-the-river hydro electric project. I suppose it will not affect the flow of waters into India/Bangladesh.
Even if China was able to divert all the Brahmaputra rivers waters, It will have very minimal affect on NE India. Bangladesh will be worst affected.

---------- Post added at 10:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 AM ----------

double post.. deleted
 
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I feel this is a confidence building measure from China.
Both India and China have realized that the only way forward if friendship with each other.
I hope some of our members also realize the same.
 
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I feel this is a confidence building measure from China.
Both India and China have realized that the only way forward if friendship with each other.
I hope some of our members also realize the same.

No prob for India....But Bangladesh....sorry!!!!
 
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Brahmaputra touches danger level in Dibrugarh
STAFF correspondent
DIBRUGARH, April 21 – Brahmaputra and its tributaries in several places was touching the danger level mark on Tuesday evening as torrential rain continued to lash the region. The surging water of Brahmaputra touched the danger mark here yet again this year and is expected to rise further due to the rise in the water level at Tezu and Pasighat, Central Water Commission sources informed.
The incessant rain has hit normal life in the region. Residents in several areas within the municipality are caught reeling in slush and waterlogging. Drains have remained clogged as earlier, despite the fact that the sewerage system was being given a facelift recently. Crowds in the city streets and bazaar have shown considerable decline.

Development works in the district and commercial activities in the city have also received major jolt. The incessant rain is affecting construction works at the mega gas cracker project site in Lepetkatta and Rail cum Road Bogibeel bridge. Moreover, the road communications in several interior.
 
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More than 80 per cent of Bangladesh's 20 million small farmers grow rice and depend on water that has flowed through India.
 
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Instead of dams and canals humans should try to use solar enrgy and sea water to ease water shortages
 
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Good move by China. India should use this opportunity and sign a bilateral water sharing deal to avoid any confusions in the future.
 
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i dont think China will divert water.. Coz it will damage the relationship with India and more over it will lose its all-weather friend Bangladesh.. Chinese are not that stupid i believe...

Instead of dams and canals humans should try to use solar enrgy and sea water to ease water shortages

Were you alien or something????:cheesy: just kidding..:lol::lol:
 
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currently 70% of the water in this river is wasted. we can take even 50% of the flow and there would be more than enough for india and bangladesh. the water shortage in bangladesh is not caused by lack of water, since bangladesh is actually in danger of sinking beneath the ocean, but by lack of sanitation.
 
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Many positive points that come out here like higher trust level between India-China and inking implementation plan to share hydrological data on the Sutlej and Brahmaputra.Moroever the project does not involve storage of water.
Nothing for India or even Bangladesh to be worried about.
 
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currently 70% of the water in this river is wasted. we can take even 50% of the flow and there would be more than enough for india and bangladesh. the water shortage in bangladesh is not caused by lack of water, since bangladesh is actually in danger of sinking beneath the ocean, but by lack of sanitation.

Wat do our Bangla friends say to this ..?
 
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Perhaps more important than hydroelectric dams, though less obvious, are smaller dams that can aid in pollution control from mining and industrial activities. It's generally a good idea for countries to cooperate on this issue, even insisting that their neighbor build such dams if necessary to improve water quality.
 
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currently 70% of the water in this river is wasted. we can take even 50% of the flow and there would be more than enough for india and bangladesh. the water shortage in bangladesh is not caused by lack of water, since bangladesh is actually in danger of sinking beneath the ocean, but by lack of sanitation.

:disagree::tdown::tdown::tdown::tdown::tdown::disagree:
 
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China asked to clear air over diversion plans

Sachin Parashar, TNN | Jun 14, 2011, 01.57am IST

NEW DELHI: Reacting to a report by TOI about China considering a new plan to divert Brahmaputra waters, foreign minister S M Krishna said on Monday the government has sought a report on the matter from its mission in Beijing. Apparently to deal with severe drought conditions in the region, Chinese experts associated with the government have come up with a new plan that seeks to divert river waters in the upper reaches to the northwestern province of Xinjiang.

"We are trying to get more details both from the government and our mission and then depending upon the report that we get, we will be able to make an assessment and take appropriate diplomatic steps," Krishna told reporters.

China announced the construction of $1.2billion Zangmu dam on Brahmaputra last year, but assured India that it was not big enough to divert the river waters. This dam was meant to deal with power shortage in Tibet. The fresh proposal is different from what was envisaged in China's south-north water transfer project approved earlier.

Official sources said the government was in touch with China over the issue and recalled assurances given earlier by Beijing that it is not carrying out any project to affect the water flow to downstream countries like India and Bangladesh. "There are regular meetings between experts from both countries over the issue and also constant exchange of data. China has continued to assure us that there is no diversion but we have taken notes of fresh reports and will verify them," said a government source.

Experts say the fresh proposal is a part of China's initiative to shift focus from building dams on domestic rivers to international ones like Salween and Brahmaputra. Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney said, these dams are priority strategic projects for China.

Main opposition, BJP, too reacted saying that the matter was of "real concern" to India. "For last two years, there have been reports that the Chinese government wants to divert the Brahmaputra from where it flows from the Himalayas. If it gets diverted, we will have terrible ecological and other problems which will affect the economy of the whole region," said party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar. "If there is some fresh evidence, we should take it up with the Chinese government with all seriousness," he added.

China asked to clear air over diversion plans - The Times of India
 
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