Amid concerns over China’s mega hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, river and water experts in Bangladesh have said that there will be no downstream impact unless the water flow is diverted.
They recently said that there is little chance of a decrease in water flow in the Brahmaputra, as most of its water originates downstream of the Chinese hydropower project sites on the Yarlung Tsangpo.
The Yarlung Tsangpo becomes the Brahmaputra as it flows into India and then into Bangladesh. The total length of the river system is approximately 2,900km.
Concerns were triggered in both India and Bangladesh after Chinese prime minister Li Qiang, on July 19, presided over a ceremony marking the start of construction of the Medog Hydropower Station on the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet.
The Chinese megaproject, estimated to cost 1.2 trillion yuan or USD 167 billion, involves several dams, including the one in Medog, which is expected to be the world’s largest and tallest. The first phase is scheduled to generate power in the early to mid-2030s, according to Reuters.
Medog is the last county in Tibet that borders India's Arunachal province. If the dam is constructed here, the Grand Canyon of Yarlung Zangbo, located in Medog, will work as a natural reservoir for hydropower.
Renowned Bangladeshi water expert Professor Ainun Nishat, advisor to the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research at Brac University, recently told New Age that a hydropower dam, if not used for water diversion for irrigation or other purposes and if properly managed to prevent excessive spillover, would not harm downstream ecosystems.
‘Understanding China's actual plan is crucial,’ he said.
Nishat added that 70–80 per cent of the Brahmaputra’s flow into Bangladesh originates downstream of the particular Chinese dam project sites.
‘Even if China diverts some water in the Tibetan section, Bangladesh is unlikely to face water shortages in the Brahmaputra,’ he said.
Inamul Haque, chairman of the Institute of Water and Environment, said that the run-off from the Zangmu Dam, constructed in Gyaca County of Shannan Prefecture in Tibet and the first hydropower plant under the Yarlung Tsangpo project, has not had a negative impact so far.
India, the very downstream riparian country, has not officially opposed the Zangmu Dam.
In 2015, China commissioned the $1.5 billion Zangmu Hydropower Station.
Inamul explained that the tunnel-based turbine generators being built at the Medog Hydropower Station, located at the Great Bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo around Mount Namcha Barwa, within Medog County of Nyingchi Prefecture, are not intended to divert or store water.
‘I believe the project will not have any downstream impact on Bangladesh,’ Inamul said.
Sheikh Rokon, secretary general of Riverine People – a Bangladesh-based voluntary organisation, however, is skeptical about the consequences.
He said intervention to the natural river water flow might slow down or speed up the siltation process in Bangladesh through the Brahmaputra.
‘Hence, construction of the proposed dam needs to be discussed at the state-level before its commissioning,’ he added.
Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on July 21 assured Dhaka that the Yarlung Zangbo dam project would not affect water flow to downstream countries, including Bangladesh as it is being implemented solely for electricity generation.
‘China will not withdraw or use any water from the project and the project will not affect downstream countries’,’ the Chinese envoy conveyed the message to Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain during a meeting at the foreign ministry here, said a ministry’s press release.
.jpeg)
0 Comments