Mega dams would kill Brahmaputra: Bahuguna

SHILLONG, Dec 9 – Noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna today warned that mega dams would kill Brahmaputra river and people living in its lower reaches of Assam and Bangladesh.

“Dams are a temporary solution to a permanent problem. After sometimes these dams will stop the natural flow of the river and destroy its ecology,” Bahuguna said at the sidelines of an international conference on ‘Sustainability: Management and Beyond’ organised by the IIM-Shillong here. He said that construction of such dams would have an adverse impact not just on the river basin but also on the eco-geological balance of the Himalayan range.

The Chipko Movement leader suggested that large-scale plantation of trees along the Himalayan ranges was the only solution to dams. “Make the Himalayas as a continuous dam by planting trees. Trees will attract more rains and give more water,” he advocated.

Brahmaputra is 2,906-km long and is one of Asia’s largest rivers that traverses 1,625 km in Tibet, 918 km in India and the rest 363 km in Bangladesh before entering into the Bay of Bengal.

Urging people to oppose construction of dams in Arunachal Pradesh, he said these dams “would devastate the environment and uproot people for short-term benefits”.

Various organisations in Assam have opposed the construction of 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project in Arunachal Pradesh pointing out the serious repercussions it would have on ecology and the people.

The environmentalists further warned that apart from environmental disaster such dams would be an easy target for China to attack as Arunachal Pradesh shares a 1,030-km unfenced border with the neighbouring country.

“At any point China can attack these dams as these are so close to the international border. They can bomb them anytime at times of war. The risk from the security point of view is therefore immense,” he added.