More water bombs

Hectic dam activity has been confirmed in more regions in China close to the border with Arunachal Pradesh, aggravating India's safety and security

- BY RAJEEV BHATTACHARYYA

India’s northeast could be facing danger from more ‘water bombs’ built by China that have gone unnoticed amid the uproar over the world’s largest dam being planned in the neighbouring country near the border. Several dams have been constructed in China on the transboundary Lohit river (or Zayul Chu) that ripples through the districts of Anjaw and Lohit in eastern Arunachal Pradesh before merging with the Brahmaputra in Assam. The dams are located in Zayul (or Zayu) county in the Nyingchi prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region bordering India and Myanmar.

The projects are at an estimated 90km from the border between the two countries, according to some researchers who are keeping a tab on developments in that region. Glimpses of the dam activity can be gleaned from the report submitted by the Zayul county government at the fourth session of the 12th People’s Congress of Zayul county some years ago. It says that ‘every effort’ has been made to “promote the accelerated development” of hydropower energy along with animal husbandry, tourism, Tibetan medicine and other industries.

Further, the report points out that the development of the hydropower energy industry would be accelerated with the goal of building a “West-to-East Power Transmission” connection base, following the norms of “parallel development and protection” and enhancing cooperation with large domestic power group companies. Efforts would be made to expedite the construction of Hongdong, Omi, Zala and other power stations and promote the research and planning of hydropower development in the basins of the Zayul and Yuqu rivers.

These developments appear to have escaped the attention of observers and researchers in India. Elsewhere, academics and activists of Tibetan organisations are aware of the construction of dams in Zayul county and the future plans firmed up by the Chinese government for harnessing more hydel energy in the ecologically sensitive and fragile region.