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I.R., Infrastructure
Pradeep Kumar

08/03/21 14:07 PM IST

First downstream dams to be built on the lower reaches of Brahmaputra

In news

China has given its nod for the first downstream dams to be built on the lower reaches of Brahmaputra River or Yarlung Zangbo River (as known in Tibet before it flows into India)

Highlights
  • A draft of China’s new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) specifically talks about building hydropower bases on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river as among the priority energy projects to be undertaken in the next five years. 
  • The project is also listed along with the Sichuan-Tibet railway and the national water network.
  • In 2015 China operationalised its first hydropower project at Zangmu in Tibet, while three other dams at Dagu, Jiexu and Jiacha are being developed, all on the upper and middle reaches of the river.
  • The inclusion of the projects in the draft plan suggests the authorities have given the go-ahead to begin tapping the lower reaches for the first time, which marks a new chapter in the hydropower exploitation of the river.
India's concern
  • India has expressed concerns to China over the four planned dams on the upper and middle reaches, though Indian officials have said the dams are not likely to greatly impact the quantity of the Brahmaputra’s flows in India because they are only storing water for power generation, and the Brahmaputra is not entirely dependent on upstream flows with an estimated 35% of its basin in India.
  • Dams on the lower reaches and at the Great Bend would, however, raise fresh concerns because of the location across the border from Arunachal Pradesh and the potential impact downstream.
Source: The Hindu

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