Dam on upper reaches Brahmaputra will not impact India, Bangladesh: China

China on Wednesday defended the launch of the construction of a dam over the Brahmaputra river in the ecologically sensitive Tibet region and allayed concerns over its impact in the lower riparian countries such as India and Bangladesh.

- AGENCIES

It is learnt that India is keeping a close eye on the construction of what is said to be the world's largest hydropower dam.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday announced the start of the construction of the dam in the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra River, locally known as Yarlung Zangbo, at Nyingchi City located close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Arunachal Pradesh sector.

The project "will not have any negative impact on the downstream regions", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a media briefing, while responding to a question on concerns in India and Bangladesh over the dam.

There have been mounting concerns in India over the potential environmental impact of the dam. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu recently called it a ticking "water bomb", an existential threat and a bigger issue than anything else apart from the military threat.