China throws up hands, but experts breathe easy

This leaves New Delhi with no choice but to continue with the high alert along the Sutlej valley till the time the reservoir is drained. Worse, there has been heavy precipitation in the catchment area of the Pareechu since the past week.

Beijing has been sharing all data on the Pareechu and the artificial lake with New Delhi either through diplomatic channels or the military hotline at Spanggur Gap in the western sector of Ladakh. ‘‘Beijing has been cooperative and information is available to us sometimes within hours despite the remoteness of the area,’’ a senior official said. Beijing, that has signed a protocol to share hydrological data on the Brahmaputra basin is unable to do so for the Sutlej as it would require infrastructure to be built in the remote area of Tibet.

The blockage on the Pareechu was first noticed by the Indian Army experts on July 29 as this tributary of the Sutlej originates from Chumar in eastern Ladakh, crosses to Tibet and re-enters India near Lephcha in Himachal Pradesh.

While New Delhi has been asking Beijing to allow the Indian technical team to visit the lake in Tibet, China has refused, saying the terrain, at about 14,000 feet is unstable due to landslides and heavy precipitation.