Siang project to mitigate flood risk posed by China: Arunachal CM
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), estimated to cost Rs 1.13 lakh crore, was being planned by the Centre not just for generating electricity but to maintain the natural flow of the river all year round and mitigate risks of flooding if China released excess water.
Khandu’s remarks came in the wake of China approving the construction of the world’s largest dam, at a cost of USD 137 billion, on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the Indian border. The dam is to be built at a huge gorge in the Himalayan reaches where the Brahmaputra river makes a huge U-turn to flow into Arunachal and then to Bangladesh.
“The SUMP, with an estimated installed capacity of 11,000 mw, is not just about generating power, but also about maintaining the natural flow of the Siang river and mitigating potential flood risks from water releases by China,” Khandu told PTI in an interview.
Describing SUMP as a project of national importance, he said hydropower generation is only the secondary goal of it.
“The real objective of the project is to save the Siang river and the communities that have depended on it for generations,” he said.
The survey for preparing the pre-feasibility report of the projects is yet to be done amid stiff opposition from locals who are concerned about displacement, loss of livelihoods, and environmental impact of the mega dam. Khandu said China’s plans to divert water from the Brahmaputra could drastically reduce flow of the Siang.
