WHY IN NEWS?

China nod for downstream dam on Brahmaputra

ABOUT

• It will be first downstream dam on the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river, or YarlungZangbo as it is known in Tibet.

• This is marking a new phase in China’s hydropower exploitation of the river with potential ramifications for India.

• China’s State-owned hydropower company POWERCHINA had last month signed “a strategic cooperation agreement” with the Tibet Autonomous Region.

• The company will “implement hydropower exploitation in the downstream of the YarlungZangbo River” as part of the new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

• The river falls spectacularly over a 2,000 metre-drop and turns sharply to flow across the border into Arunachal Pradesh.

 

Source: The Hindu