Himanta Biswa Sharma debunks Pakistan's manufactured threat of “What if China stops the water of Brahmaputra”
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Himanta Biswa Sharma debunks Pakistan's manufactured threat of “What if China stops the water of Brahmaputra”")
Himanta Biswa Sharma Photograph: (ANI)
Himanta Biswa Sharma debunked Pakistan's threat of China stopping the water of the Brahmaputra, calling it a manufactured threat.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma on Monday debunked Pakistan's threat of a hypothetical scenario, “What if China stops the water of Brahmaputra”, calling it another baseless "scare tactic". He said that Pakistan is "spinning another manufactured threat.
This supposed theory was circulating on social media following India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960. Notably, a senior aide to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Rana Ihsaan Afzal, resonated with such claims by saying that China can also take action with the Brahmaputra.
Himanta Biswa Sharma refuted all such claims. He said that the Brahmaputra is a river that grows when it flows through India, owing to Indian geography and topology. China contributes only 30-35 per cent of the water in the Brahmaputra. The rest of it is generated in India from rain and tributaries like Subansiri, Lohit, Kameng, Manas, Dhansiri, Jia-Bharali, Kopili and other rivers like Krishnai, Digaru, and Kulsi, which flow from Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia Hills. "The Brahmaputra is not a river India depends on upstream — it is a rain-fed Indian river system, strengthened after entering Indian territory," he said.
He said that Pakistan should know this, that “even if China were to reduce water flow (unlikely as China has never threatened or indicated in any official forum), it may actually help India mitigate the annual floods in Assam, which displace lakhs and destroy livelihoods every year.”
He further said Pakistan have exploited India for 74 years under the Indus water treaty, it now panics as India is exercising its sovereign rights.
China has already constructed multiple dams in its 50 per cent catchment, eg on Yarlung Sangpo in Tibet, the Zangmu Dam and plans for a massive super dam near Arunachal Pradesh. However, they do not store or divert water.
Moreover, India and China do not have a water sharing agreement; it has a hydrological data (water level, rainfall) sharing agreement, which China have previously suspended. The Memorandum of Understanding has expired in June 2023, since it is not a treaty, so it is non-binding; hence no such compulsion between the two nations. In an RTI enquiry Ministry of Jal Shakiti said China has not shared hydrological data on hydro structure since 2022.
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