Arunachal Deputy Chief Minister To NewsDeskReport: China has approved the construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric dam in Tibet. This dam on the Tibetan Plateau can have a deep impact on the national security of India as well as the ecology of India and Bangladesh. This could cause floods or water shortages and put China in an advantageous position in the event of war. The Yarlung Tsangbo River turns left and flows through Arunachal Pradesh and is called the Siang in the state, then the Brahmaputra in Assam and the Jamuna in Bangladesh before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Yarlung River enters India through Arunachal Pradesh and becomes Siang.
What did the Deputy Chief Minister say?
Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chauna Main told NewsDeskReport that the proposed ‘Siang Dam’ in Arunachal Pradesh will “counter” the Chinese dam. The Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project is a proposed dam on the Siang River in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal and can generate up to 11,000 MW of electricity. Further said, “Siang Dam will compete with the Chinese dam on Yarlung Tsangbo. This is for national security and this should be understood by the local people. We have been making people aware of China’s dam project. For the last five years, we have been talking about Siang Dam. Many people have understood, but some people are not able to understand the seriousness of the situation and to what extent the proposed Chinese dam will affect the Siang River and the downstream areas. “
The Deputy Chief Minister said, “People should allow us to make a pre-visibility report and if it is possible to build a dam in Siang in two years, we will make a detailed project report (DPR) and if it is not beneficial for the people, We will not build a dam in the Siang River, but if it is so, we will build a dam.”
what are the problems
The work of Siang Dam is facing opposition from the local people in Arunachal Pradesh. Over 350 individuals, civil society and environmental groups across the country have urged President Draupadi Murmu to withdraw the paramilitary forces deployed in Arunachal Pradesh. It is alleged that this deployment has been done to allegedly “forcibly” conduct surveys for this mega hydropower project. At the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF), hundreds of villagers in the Siang river belt are protesting and demanding that a feasibility study should be conducted first for the proposed 12,500 MW Siang Upper Multi-Purpose Project (SUMP).
The minister urged the local people to allow the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to take the machinery to the site for a pre-visibility report. The Chinese dam will produce electricity equal to the Three Gorges Dam in China. This will be the world’s largest hydroelectric power station and will have geological impact in the Himalayan belt. The proposed Chinese dam could produce 60,000 MW of hydropower. The Three Gorges created a reservoir and displaced 1.4 million residents upstream.
Why is Siang Dam important?
Talking about this, Mein said, ‘If pre-visibility is done, we will know what should be the height of the dam and how many areas will be submerged and then we will go for public hearing. If China releases water, the entire Siang River, Brahmaputra Valley and Guwahati’s Sarighat Bridge will be submerged. To counter them, our government decided to build Siang Dam. If China stops releasing water, the river will dry up. He said, ‘The dam is not only for power generation, but it will also help us in stopping water from China’s side and gradually we can release water from our dam. . Similar concerns on the Chinese dam have also been raised by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He said, “If China builds this dam, the Brahmaputra ecosystem will become completely fragile, it will dry up and depend only on rainwater from Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.