India plans Brahmaputra dam, after China unveils Tibet hydropower project

Indian officials fear dam projects along the river, known in China as Yarlung Tsangpo, could trigger flash floods or create water scarcity downstream

China-India relations are at a low point following a border dispute, and analysts warn that damming the river could develop into another flashpoint

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Indian women wash utensils in the Brahmaputra river in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. It is one of Asia's largest rivers, passing through China's Tibet region, India and Bangladesh before converging into the Bay of Bengal. Photo: AP

Published: 10:46pm, 1 Dec 2020Updated: 10:49pm, 1 Dec 2020

India is considering a plan to build a 10 gigawatts (GW) hydropower project in a remote eastern state, an official said on Tuesday, following reports that China could construct dams on a section of the Brahmaputra river, known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in China.

The river flows from Tibet into India’s Arunachal Pradesh state and down through Assam to Bangladesh. Indian authorities are concerned Chinese projects could trigger flash floods or create water scarcity.

“The need of the hour is to have a big dam in Arunachal Pradesh to mitigate the adverse impact of the Chinese dam projects,” said T.S. Mehra, a senior official in India’s federal water ministry.

“Our proposal is under consideration at the highest level in the government,” Mehra said, adding the Indian plan would create a large water storage capacity to offset the impact of Chinese dams on flows.

Diplomatic relations between India and China are at a low point, with troops locked in a border face-off in the western Himalayas for months.