The Indian government has urged the highest level of Chinese authorities to ensure that the downstream states are not affected in any way by the activities carried out by China in the upstream areas of the Brahmaputra river.
This was stated by Union Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal at Lok Sabha on Thursday in response to a question asked by Arunachal Pradesh MP Ninong Ering regarding diversion of the Brahmaputra river by Chinese authorities.
Ering asked whether China was diverting the Brahmaputra river towards Xinjiang province by constructing a 1,000 km long tunnel.
He also asked Meghwal about the steps they have taken to control the problem of floods caused by Brahmaputra.
Meghwal assured Ering that China was using the water of river Brahmaputra only for implementing hydropower projects and they have no plans for carrying out any diversion work, reports The Arunachal Times.
“We intend to remain engaged with China on the issue of trans-border rivers to safeguard our interests. Various issues relating to trans-border rivers, including construction of hydropower dams, are discussed with China under the ambit of an institutionalized expert level mechanism which was established in 2006,” the minister said.
Meghwal told Ering that for flood control measures, various flood management and anti-erosion schemes are being carried out by the state governments and the union government also provides technical and financial guidance when need arises.