River Siang turns black: China denies building tunnel to divert Brahmaputra water

Beijing: Amid reports of highly polluted waters from its tributary Siang flowing into India, China on Wednesday denied plans to construct a tunnel to divert Brahmaputra river waters.

"I would like to point out that China's position on the eastern part of the China-India border is consistent and clear," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in response to questions about the reports on blackened, muddy waters with cement and sledge of the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh.

"I have never heard of the project mentioned by the Indian side. It is hoped that the Indian side will not conduct unfounded speculation and reports," he said in a written response to a question in this regard," PTI reported.

In October 2017, too, China had denied reports of plans to build a 1000-km long tunnel to divert Brahmaputra waters to the arid regions of Xinjiang, saying the report is untrue and false.

In 2016, China had declared that it would be building a dam on a tributary of the river, sparking concerns about its potential downstream impact in India.

Arunachal Pradesh State Water Quality Testing Laboratory (SWQTL) in a recent report said the water of the Siang river, which has turned dark and muddy, has become unfit for human consumption.

PM asks MEA, Water Ministry to find out why the Brahmaputra turned black

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the External Affairs Ministry and Ministry of Water Resources to find out why the water of Brahmaputra turned black and take remedial measures for it.

This was conveyed at a high-level meeting chaired by the PM and attended by Union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitely, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal besides others last evening, a statement issued by the Assam government said.

The PM also asked the other ministries to work in synergy and directed the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure that scientific tests of Brahmaputra water are conducted to ascertain the physical and chemical composition of the river where it turned black.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Attorney General KK Venugopal, Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajeev Jain besides others attended the meeting.

Brahmaputra originates in Tibet where it is called Yarlung Tsangpo and is known as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh before it enters Assam and flows southwards to the sea through Bangladesh.

The water of the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh, which is called Brahmaputra in Assam, turned black from November-end. 

(With PTI inputs)