China Gives Assurance About Its Planned Brahmaputra Dam; India Mulling Offset In Arunachal

After China’s proposal to construct a ‘mega’ dam on the Brahmaputra river raised eyebrows in India, Beijing has said that it will take into consideration the interest of other countries before firming up any plan to develop it. On Monday, Chinese state media reported the country could build up to 60 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower capacity in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangbo river, known as the Brahmaputra in India. Ji Rong, Spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, said that downstream development of the river was at a “preliminary planning and demonstration” stage. “Any project will undergo scientific planning and demonstration with full consideration for the impact on the downstream areas and the interests of both upstream and downstream countries,” she said in a statement. “There is no need to over-interpret it,” she added. The mighty Brahmaputra, one of the longest rivers in the world passes through China, India and Bangladesh and has several tributaries and sub-tributaries. Yarlung Zangbo originates in Tibet. The river is known as Siang when it enters India through Arunachal Pradesh. It is further joined by several tributaries to take shape of the Brahmaputra in Assam.