Guwahati: Debabrata Saikia moves to Centre over China’s Medog Dam project

Staff reporter

Guwahati: Leader of Opposition, Assam Legislative Assembly (ALA) Debabrata Saikia has raised serious concerns over the construction of China’s massive Medog (Motuo) Hydropower Project on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, near the India-China border, which becomes the Brahmaputra upon entering India. In a letter addressed to Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, he has urged immediate diplomatic engagement with China to protect Assam’s ecological and hydrological rights.

Highlighting the massive scale and potential environmental impact of the dam, Saikia stressed that the project threatens the ecological integrity, water security, and economic stability of Assam and other northeastern states. He criticized the lack of transparency and absence of a water-sharing treaty with China, warning that without real-time data-sharing and proper risk assessments, the people of Assam remain extremely vulnerable.

The letter pointed to specific dangers including sudden, unregulated water releases causing flash floods in Assam. Disruption of aquatic ecosystems and fish migration downstream. Reduced water flow in dry seasons, impacting agriculture and drinking water. Strategic water control increasing China’s geopolitical leverage during regional crises.

Contrary to the Chief Minister’s claim that controlled flow from the dam may assist in flood control, Saikia argued that such benefits cannot be guaranteed in the absence of binding agreements and protocols.

To address these concerns, Saikia urged the Ministry of External Affairs to initiate a bilateral treaty with China ensuring uninterrupted and ecologically safe river flow, a real-time hydrological data-sharing system involving Northeast Indian authorities, a protocol mandating prior notice for water discharge from Chinese dams, a multilateral platform for managing shared Himalayan transboundary rivers among India, China, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

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