To take water from Brahmaputra to Xinjiang, China plans 1,000 km tunnel

The tunnel which would be the longest in the world could create a major water crisis in the north eastern state as the Tsangpo is an upper riparian river.

In a move that would worry India, China is planning to construct a 1,000 kilometre long tunnel to take Brahmaputra water to Xinjiang. Top scientists backed by the Communist Party of China are working on this mega project.

The tunnel which would be the longest in the world could create a major water crisis in the north eastern state as the Tsangpo is an upper riparian river. A blue print for the same was submitted in March, reports state.

Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported, citing experts involved in the project said that the engineers are testing techniques that could be used to build the 1,000-km tunnel to carry water from Tibet to the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang.

The report also said, "Wang Menshu, China's top tunneling expert, suggested the government "drain the Yarlung Tsangpo River at Sangri county in southern Tibet, near the disputed border with India."

"Wang said the project would also prompt protests from India and Bangladesh, which lay downstream. But compared to other proposals, which would require the construction of massive dams on the river, the underground tunnels would leave Tibet's natural landscape largely unscathed," the report further stated. "It won't leave a mark on the surface for other countries or environmental activists to point their fingers at," Wang also said.

OneIndia News