By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, October 14: The operationalization of $1.52 billion Zangmu or Zam Hydropower Plant built on the Brahmaputra River or Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet has led to both the Indian government and the Tibetan government in exile expressing concerns over the construction and consequences of the dam that produces 510 megawatts of electricity.
Speaking to Phayul said, Minister of Information and International Relations (Kalon) Dickyi Chhoyang said, “Tibet is a main river source in Asia. Therefore, it is important for all the neighboring countries to take serious considerations over building of such dams. If not acted upon immediately, we all will have to face serious consequences in the future.”
Kalon Dickyi Choeyang also raised concerns regarding the lack of investigation over the construction of the dam and its legality, she said, “We are carrying on with our continuous efforts of plea to through NGOs, environmental experts and eminent personalities to aware the ongoing environmental destruction of Tibetan Plateau.”
The development has also made India concern over the downstream water supplies, to which Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, “China pays great attention to the issue of source water protection for downstream regions. Experts from both sides have also been in close contact.”
Lobsang Yangtso, a Tibetan who is currently doing her PhD in Chinese division, Center for East Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), feels that the lack of invigilation of the site of the dam by foreign experts make it hard to predict the consequences of such huge dam over Brahmaputra.
“China considers these issues very sensitive like mining. They do not allow experts and scholars on dam to examine the site. Right now we only have information given by the Chinese government,” she said.
She added that her main concern is possibility of earthquakes due to massive constructions on the river. We have many recent cases of quakes in the region. If an earthquake happens and the dam breaks, it will put the downstream population at risk, she said.
Many experts and hydrologist have expressed their concerns that Zangmu Dam is not the only dam planned by Beijing. According to Tashi Tsering, an expert on the subject, China plans to build six dams on the river. Whereas, Yang Yong, a Chinese Hydrologist, says that they are planning for 11 dams over the river.
Six or 11 dams, extensive construction can lead to disasters like the landslide in Tibet in 2000, which created a 3 km-wide, 90 m-high wall of mud and rocks on the Brahmaputra. With three months a lake was formed, which caused a massive flood when the wall collapsed killing hundreds of people in Tibet and India.
