GUWAHATI, April 8: In a strong warning against China’s ambitious hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, BJP Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh, Tapir Gao, has raised alarms over what he terms a looming “water bomb” threatening ecological and humanitarian stability in the Northeast region.
Speaking at an international seminar hosted by the think tank Asian Confluence in Guwahati, Gao warned that the construction of the 60,000 MW “Great Bend Dam” could severely impact the Brahmaputra River, which flows from Tibet into India and Bangladesh.
Gao emphasized the potentially devastating consequences of the dam, including water scarcity, ecological imbalance, and widespread humanitarian fallout. “I had said that we should not consider them only to generate water or power generation. It is a water bomb,” he asserted, referencing a 2000 incident when a sudden water release from China caused significant flooding in the Siang River, resulting in loss of life, livestock, and property.
According to Gao, the Chinese project includes a 9.5-kilometre-long dam in a geologically fragile and seismically active region. He alleged that it is part of a broader Chinese strategy to divert water from Tibet to the Yellow River. The MP highlighted the lack of a water-sharing treaty between India and China as a major diplomatic vulnerability. “If the Brahmaputra dries up or floods unpredictably, the impact will be severe—from water scarcity to destruction of aquatic life,” he warned.
Gao urged the Indian government to take the matter to international diplomatic forums, stressing that proactive pressure is necessary to prevent China from unilaterally altering the region’s hydrological balance. He expressed confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing efforts to address border and water-sharing issues with China but cautioned that the window for preventive action is closing.
“Building a dam on the Siang River is essential if we are to protect ourselves from future devastation. Public consultations are already underway, but time is running out,” Gao stated.
The Guwahati seminar convened regional experts, environmentalists, and policymakers to examine the broader implications of China’s dam-building spree. Panelists discussed how the Brahmaputra’s natural flow, driven by snow and glacial melt, could be dangerously disrupted. Its steep descent into India already makes the river prone to flooding, and upstream interference could heighten the risk of both floods and droughts.
The $137 billion project, part of China’s clean energy agenda and its pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, has drawn skepticism for its lack of environmental transparency. Researchers warn that the scale of the project, which involves drilling 420 km of tunnels in the earthquake-prone Namcha Barwa region, could cause landslides, habitat destruction, and displacement.
