China rejects report of planned tunnel to divert Brahmaputra waters
China has rejected a media report stating that it planned to construct a 1,000km tunnel in a bid to divert water from the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, bordering Arunachal Pradesh, to its arid Xinjiang region. China's foreign ministry said the report by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post was "false and untrue." It said Beijing would continue giving cross-border river cooperation great importance.
What the report stated?
The South China Morning Post reported that Chinese engineers were testing techniques to build the largest of its kind tunnel. The proposed tunnel would drop the waters of the Yarlung Tsangpo River (known as Brahmaputra in India) from the Tibetan plateau through multiple sections linked by waterfalls. The waters would be diverted to Xinjiang, which is covered with deserts and dry grasslands.
India remains wary of China's dam construction along river
India is a lower riparian for the waters of the Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra River. The tunnel project, if truly built, would cause a crisis in India and Bangladesh, where millions of livelihoods depend on the Brahmaputra's waters. Both India and Bangladesh have flagged concerns over various dams constructed by China on the river. Beijing has assured both countries, the dams aren't built to store water.
