Concern in Arunachal over China's plan to construct 60,000 MW dam on Siang river in Tibet

'They [China] can either divert the entire river flow drying up our Siang or release water at once causing unprecedented flood havoc downstream," the Arunachal CM warned.

The Arunachal Pradesh government is worried over China's plan to construct a dam for a 60,000 MW hydro power project on the river Siang in Tibet as the same may pose a threat to lives in the frontier state.

Stating that both the Centre and the state government are aware of the development, Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday said while the Centre was responding to the development at its level, the concern of the state government is to save river Siang at all costs and also to keep its flow under control.

"History is witness that we cannot trust our neighbor (China). You never know what they can do. They can either divert the entire river flow drying up our Siang or release water at once causing unprecedented flood havoc downstream,” Khandu said while attending the Banggo Solung, a festival of the Adi community at Mebo in East Siang district on Thursday.

“The only solution to these threats is that we too construct a barrage on the river Siang. While this barrage will save water from the tributaries within Arunachal Pradesh to maintain the natural flow of the Siang, it will also protect our land from flash floods. Hydropower generation is our secondary objective,” Khandu said.

The river Siang is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet and the Brahmaputra in Assam and Jamuna in Bangladesh. The river flows from Tibet and to Bangladesh via Arunachal Pradesh and Assam before meandering into the Bay of Bengal.

Khandu also expressed concern over the recurring land erosion by the Siang every monsoon in Mebo area. The CM said that construction of a barrage on the river is the only viable option to tame it’s course and flow.

“Couple of years ago, the all-important Mebo-Dhola road was breached. We constructed an alternate road. This too was eroded the next year. We then spent about Rs 35 crore through the Department of Water Resources to construct flood protection structures. These too got eroded. The famous Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary on the right bank is also shrinking due to soil erosion. We need to find a long-term solution to the problem,” he said.

Khandu admitted that safeguarding the 23 km long bank is not an easy task but the governments, both at the state and central levels, are committed to make life easy for the 10-plus villages that bear the brunt of River Siang every monsoon.