China to maintain communication with India on artificial lakes due to flooding concerns

The cause of worry is this: In the event of the lakes joining or bursting, it could potentially endanger the lives of millions of people residing along the banks of both Siang (in Arunachal Pradesh) and Brahmaputra (in Assam) downstream.

China has agreed to maintain constant communication with India to deal with massive lakes that form due to landslides on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet following an earthquake, which caused concerns of a sudden flooding on the Indian side, a Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying by PTI. As per reports, three huge artificial lakes, whose size and volume of water in them are yet to be estimated, were formed in the Brahmaputra river, known locally as the Yarlung Tsangpo, due to landslide after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Tibet last month.

The cause of worry is this: In the event of the lakes joining or bursting, it could potentially endanger the lives of millions of people residing along the banks of both Siang (in Arunachal Pradesh) and Brahmaputra (in Assam) downstream. “The Chinese side, through the existing channels, will maintain communication with the Indian side on the cross-border rivers,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted by PTI as saying. She added that the verification by the Chinese authorities has revealed that lakes are on the eastern section of the India-China boundary.

“It is caused by natural factors. It is not a man-made accident. I noticed that authorised Indian professionals have made an analysis and clarified,” Hua said, referring to reports of the lakes being detected by satellites. She also cautioned that Indian media should avoid any speculation over the issue. “We hope the Indian media will not make a groundless speculation on this,” Hua said, adding that the Chinese officials concerned will maintain communication with the Indian side on the issue.

China had earlier refuted reports that the highly-polluted water in the Siang river was caused by attempts to build a massive tunnel to divert the water to neighbouring arid Xinjiang region. The issue was reportedly discussed during the recent 20th border talks between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor, Yang Jiechi on December 22 in Delhi.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC). While China claims Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet, India asserts that the dispute covered Aksai Chin area which was occupied by China during the 1962 war.

(With PTI inputs)