Indian foreign minister SM Krishna has reassured Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi that the Indian government is tracking Chinese activity on the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra on the other side of the border.
He, however, assured the chief minister that the Chinese have claimed they are not damming the waters for diversion, but only for power generation.
“We have been tracking the developments, both with satellite pictures and through our interactions with the Chinese authorities.. The Chinese authorities have assured us that it is a power project and there will be no reservoir. The question of any water being impounded is misplaced,” Krishna said after meeting with the Chief Minister.
He said, as such, the two states should go ahead with their projects on a business as usual scenario. “The two states should go ahead and prepare the necessary project reports to utilize the waters of the Brahmaputra to the maximum benefit of these two states,” he said.
Indian hawks worry that the assurances of the Chinese government cannot be taken at face value and that the country may divert Brahmaputra waters, leaving the river dry in the summer season in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.