Brahmaputra dam project will put Arunachal and Assam in danger: BJP MP Dilip Saikia

The construction of a massive dam on river Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet could put Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in danger, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Dilip Saikia said, further urging the government to hold bilateral talks with China to halt the project. 

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on February 10, Saikia said that the dam, described as the largest in the world, would put downstream regions such as northeastern India and Bangladesh in danger.

He said the site of the dam is an earthquake prone region and is called the ‘ring of fire’.

The dam will put in danger the people and communities in the downstream region, including Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

Last year, China approved plans to build a dam over the Brahmaputra River called Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet close to the Indian border.

As per the plan, the massive dam will be built at a huge gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra makes a huge U-turn to flow into Arunachal Pradesh and then to Bangladesh.

The project, estimated to cost around USD 137 billion, is located in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes occur frequently.

Saikia said the dam will be able to store huge amounts of water which can be used to cause floods or drought in the downstream region. (With agency inputs)