Red Flag up for Bangladesh,India
China has started constructing first of the 5 dams on Brahmaputra River.
China plan for diversion of Brahmaputra River, originating from Tibetan plateau, has become a highly disputed International dispute between China and many downstream Nations like India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. China is planning to construct dams, on Brahmaputra and Other main Rivers originating from China occupied Tibet.Economies of downstream countries and the lives of their citizens are principally dependent on the River flowing in their regions. still, China continues to pay lip service to this issue by issuing denials and arranging diplomatic international seminars.China has never signed any water sharing treaty with any of the Asian downstream country.
About Three years back, media reports appeared for the 1st time, about possible plans of china, to build five dams on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet. As per China practice, the Government issued a statement to deny any such intention. Avid China watchers had then warned the Indian Government that if china Government issuing prompt denials, it must be really considering the plan. Even a few months ago, intention of taking up any such project was flatly denied by the government of China. When this matter raised at the time of Chinese President Hu Jintao's India Visit, Chinese were very quick in rejecting the news as a rumor to quell Indian sentiments. Chinese Minister for Water Resources, Wang Shucheng at that time said that Project was “unfeasible ,unnecessary and unscientific, and had no backing from the government.” The China Daily reported, Wang Shucheng saying that “There is no need for such dramatic and unscientific projects”. Later,Foreign Ministry's spokesman Liu Jianchao said (according to the China Daily) that “The Government of China has no plans to construct a dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River”.
In spite of frequent denials from China , details started leaking out in the press of the china about construction of first such dam on Brahmaputra. With high quality satellite imagery now available to Internet users, it is impossible even for a secretive Chinese government to hide such a project from internet users. When latest images of the first dam construction were published on the internet, Chinese government had to accept this fact. The first dam on the Brahmaputra river is coming up at Zangmu (Tibetan name Dzam) having 92.522996 and 29.141999 as longitude and latitude. One of China’s biggest engineering and construction companies, China Gezhouba (Group) Corp, has been awarded a contract worth 1.14 billion yuan ($167 million) for a hydropower plant here. Gezhouba’s subsidiary, No 5 Engineering Co Ltd, will provide concrete and aggregate processing services for the Zangmu Hydropower project, the company says on its website. The company will be responsible for designing, constructing and running the project that supplies 3.4-million cu m of concrete and 8-million-ton aggregate for the water power station. The project is expected to last until the end of December 2015. Tibet Power Generation Co Ltd of China Huaneng Group, the country’s top power generator, would proved finance for the Zangmu Water Power Station. Zangmu Power station will start producing power in 2013. The electricity goes to Lhasa as a high voltage power line is planned for connecting the Lhasa power grid.
The 2nd Chinese dam on Brahmaputra is now in planning stage. And would come up at Twelve kilometers downstream from Zangmu dam. The location of the power station is five kilometers to the west or upstream of Giacha county seat. The power generating capacity is 320 MW and that dam will maintain a water level of 3244 m above sea level. The reservoir will be filled with 28.87 million cubic meters of water. The expected power generating capacity is 1.527 billion kw/h per year.
Concerns of south Asian and downstream countries on Brahmaputra River, i.e. India , Myanmar and Bangladesh seem to have been addressed at present as both of these would be run of the river projects. This means that Brahmaputra water would not be diverted for the time being. However when all the five dams would be completed eventually, one can not say for sure that water from reservoirs would never be diverted. Such an eventuality would turn out to be a major problem for India but would be a calamity or a disaster for Bangladesh.
During 1950, Chinese Army set out to ‘liberate’ the roof of the world. The Indian Government , having inherited treaties of past signed by the Britishers with Tibet, were not only shocked at Chinese unprovoked Army action in Tibet, but were also offended by how the China government had disregarded its explicit assurances to India that Tibet would be left free. The British and American governments had strongly supported the position of India on Tibet and had offered all possible help to India and Tibet.
Most surprisingly, then PM of India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, suddenly took decision then to wash his hands off Tibet and even dissuaded American government from giving Army help to Tibet. Jawahar offered Tibet to China, on a platter, without any preconditions and failed to extract a price like settling Indo-China Border and a concrete river water sharing agreements.
This is turning out to be the biggest and the blunder of the century, committed by the Indian Government and the Outcome of the same not only would haunt India but also other Asian countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh for many decades to come.
