China building dam on tributary of Ganga close to India-Nepal border: Satellite images

Since the face-off between India and China which began in May 2020, scores of satellite imagery have been released which show that Beijing has been ramping up infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control.

New Delhi, Jan 20: New satellite imagery has revealed that China is building a new dam on a tributary of the Ganga, close to the tri-junction of its borders with India and Nepal.

This would be used to control the flow of water downstream, the imagery also suggested.

The development comes in the wake of China unveiling its plans to build a super dam close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tibet on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo river which flows into Arunachal Pradesh as the Shang and then to Assam as the Brahmaputra. China has also ramped up the creation of military and dual use infrastructure and villages in the eastern and western sectors of the LAC.

Damien Symon, a geospatial intelligence researcher at the Intel Lab, tweeted satellite images that shows earth development and dam construction activity done by the Chinese side on Mabja Zangbo river in Burang country of Tibet since May 2021. The images show the obstruction of the river's path, the formation of a reservoir and an embankment type dam.

The dam is located a few kilometres north of the tri-junction of China's border with India and Nepal, Symon said.

The dam appears to be 350 metres to 400 metres long, Symon also said. He also said that the structure is currently in development, so the purpose of the same is unknown.

"It appears to be an embankment dam.An airport is being constructed nearby as well," he said.

India and China have been locked in a military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since May 2020. Since then several satellite images have been released which shows the creation of military and dual use of infrastructure, including airports, missile and air defence facilities and munitions dumps. Dozens of villages have also been built in the uninhabited stretches of the LAC. Experts say that this is a move aimed at buttressing its claim to territory along the disputed boundary.