China wants to pour water on the flashpoint that could split Asia apart

By Gowhar Geelani, a Kashmiri writer and journalist. He is the author of Kashmir: Rage and Reason

Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced last week the launch of a monumental dam project on the Tibetan Plateau that is set to become the largest hydroelectric facility in the world, according to Chinese media. Situated on the lower stretches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the project has sparked concerns about potential downstream effects on water availability and environmental sustainability in India and Bangladesh.

On July 19, Li, while justifying the launch of the construction of a dam over the Brahmaputra River in the ecologically fragile and sensitive Tibet region, allayed apprehensions over its possible bearing in the midstream and lower riparian countries such as India and Bangladesh. China says the dam project, costing an estimated $167 billion, will ensure ecological protection and enhance local prosperity.

Earlier this month, the chief minister of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, described the Chinese dam project on the river, which in India is largely referred to as the Brahmaputra, as a “ticking water bomb” and a matter of grave concern.

Over 3,000km from Arunachal Pradesh, in the hushed conversations of the Kashmir Valley, people are quietly speculating that the next war between India and Pakistan may be fought over Kashmir’s waters.

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Read Full Article Here…(rt.com)

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