Himanta Biswa Sarma Responds to Pakistan's Threat on Brahmaputra River
The river's flow is largely driven by Indian monsoon rainfall, with major tributaries and inflows from Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia Hills contributing to its overall flow, making it unlikely that China's actions would have a significant impact on the river's water supply.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has downplayed concerns raised by Pakistan about China potentially obstructing the flow of water from the Brahmaputra river, stating that even if China were to reduce the water flow, it could help mitigate Assam's annual floods.
Sarma pointed out that the Brahmaputra is a rain-fed Indian river system, with only 30-35% of its flow coming from China, while the remaining 65-70% is generated within India. He cited figures showing that the river's flow increases significantly after entering Indian territory, from 2,000-3,000 cubic meters per second at the Indo-China border to 15,000-20,000 cubic meters per second in the Assam plains during monsoon.
The Assam Chief Minister emphasized that the Brahmaputra is not controlled by a single source, but is powered by India's geography, monsoon, and civilizational resilience. His comments come at a time when the Brahmaputra and several other rivers in Assam are flowing above the danger level, and floods have hit several parts of the Northeast. Water governance experts have backed Sarma's claims, stating that China's upstream interventions will have negligible or almost no effect on Brahmaputra's overall flow.
The Brahmaputra river originates at Angsi Glacier in Tibet and flows through India before entering Bangladesh, where it meets the Ganga river. Sarma's statement has alleviated concerns about the potential impact of China's actions on the Brahmaputra river's water supply, and has highlighted the importance of India's internal sources in sustaining the river's flow.