India on Alert: China Developing Massive ‘Water Bomb’ Infrastructure Along Border
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Amid the border tension with India, China has made another big move. China has started building the world's largest dam on the Brahmaputra River in Tibet. This huge dam being built very close to the Indian border has increased India's strategic concerns. Experts believe that this dam is actually a 'water bomb' of China, which it can use as a weapon against India in a war-like situation.
Where is this huge dam being built?
China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang has announced the construction of this dam. This dam is being built in the lower region of the Brahmaputra River (called the Tsangpo River in China) in Nyingchi city of Tibet. This is the same place where the Brahmaputra River takes a big 'U-turn' in a huge valley of the Himalayas and enters Arunachal Pradesh of India. This dam is being built at a huge cost of $ 167.8 billion and it is expected to generate more than 300 billion kilowatt hours of electricity every year.
Why is India worried?
This huge dam being built by China on the Brahmaputra river has deepened the lines of worry on India's forehead, which is being seen as the threat of 'water bomb'. The biggest reason for this is that the construction of the dam will give China complete control over the water flow of the Brahmaputra. India has a serious apprehension that China can misuse this control and by releasing large amounts of water as a weapon in a war-like situation, it can cause devastating floods in India's border areas, especially in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Apart from this, the area where this dam is being built is also very sensitive in terms of tectonic plates, due to which there is always a danger of earthquake here, which further increases the danger of this 'water bomb'.
In the year 2020, an Australian think tank also warned in its report that China could create big problems for India by controlling the rivers originating from the Tibetan Plateau.
India's side:
In response to this action of China, India is also building a big dam on the Brahmaputra river in Arunachal Pradesh. It is worth noting that an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) was formed in 2006 to discuss issues related to cross-border rivers between India and China. Under this, China provides data related to Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers to India during the flood season. However, how effective this mechanism will be after the construction of this new giant dam of China is a big question.