Dharamshala, 27th November: On Saturday, November 27, Sikyong Penpa Tsering expressed worry about China’s development of a dam on the Brahmaputra River. He also claimed that the megaproject could cause significant harm to lower riparian countries such as India and Bangladesh. Sikyong Penpa Tsering stated that China has been building several dams on all rivers that originate in Tibet, and those riparian countries must consider this major issue.
“This major Chinese initiative would have a significant influence on Bangladesh, Assam, and India,” he added. Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, and India are among the riparian countries. He stated that China is constructing a dam three times the size of the world’s largest dam, the Three Gorges Dam.
Lower riparian nations are concerned about the potential impact of the projects on the river, as China moves through with hydroelectric projects on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, which is one of India’s and Bangladesh’s most important supplies of freshwater.
Sikyong also questioned the impact on India, and Bangladesh if the river’s size, which feeds the dam, is changed. “There are some extremely significant challenges that all riparian countries must examine,” he said.
Lower riparian states, according to analysts, are in grave danger as a result of China’s various small and large hydroelectric projects. While the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS), a Toronto-based think tank, has stated that hydropower dams built without regard for upstream and downstream ecosystems and landscape will have a significant economic and environmental impact on the project site, surrounding areas, and far-off regions.
Experts also stated that Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, as well as Bangladeshi territories depending on the Brahmaputra River, will face greater political and environmental consequences.