China builds dam on Brahmaputra in Tibet, stokes fear in India

China’s biggest ever hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet - the Zangmu Hydropower Station - became operational on Sunday, Chinese media organisations reported. [caption id=“attachment_1818793” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Image used for representaton.[/caption] Describing the $1.5 billion dam’s first section as a “huge project,” the government of China said the station “will have power capacity of 510,000kW after its four-year construction,” the Times of India reported quoting Chinese officials. The dam on the Yarlung Zangbo — Brahmaputra  — where it is a major waterway — will be 116 metres (381 feet) high when completed next year, according to reports. It will have a total generating capacity of 510,000 kilowatts, Xinhua said, making it the largest dam ever built on the Tibetan plateau.

Tibet's largest Zangmu Hydropower Station over Yarlung Zangbo River became partly operational Sun. pic.twitter.com/f1D5p8oKBP

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) November 23, 2014

“The hydropower station will solve Tibet’s power shortage, especially in the winter,” Xinhua quoted an official from the Tibet Electric Power Co. as saying. Although, according to the report in The Times of India, China’s massive dam in all likelihood might affect the amount of water flowing into Arunachal Pradesh and other northeastern regions of the country. India has previously expressed concern about damming the Brahmaputra, one of the largest Himalayan rivers and a lifeline to some of India’s remote, farm-dependent northeastern states. India’s External Affairs ministry last year urged China “to ensure that the interests of downstream states are not harmed by any activities in upstream areas” of the river, after state media reports that China planned several more dams there. But a previous Indian External Affairs minister, S M Krishna, has said New Delhi had “ascertained from our own sources that this is a run of the river hydro-electric project which does not store water and will not adversely impact downstream areas in India”. Chinese media showed photographs of the dam, a large concrete structure which did not appear to have flooded an area significantly wider than the river’s original span. Zangmu is one of the five projects planned on the Brahmaputra to generate a total of 2,000MW of hydro power. Environment experts although warned against the construction of any dam which might affect the fragile eco-system of Tibet. With inputs from agencies