‘Brahmaputra fed by Indian rains’: CM says reduced China flow may aid flood control
Sarma explained that 65–70% of Brahmaputra’s flow originates in India, fed by torrential monsoon rains in the Northeast
A file image of Yarlung Tsangpo, the upper course of the Brahmaputra, in China. (Photo:@AmbSanjay_/X)
Guwahati, June 3: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday, said that after India put the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, Pakistan is weaving a new “manufactured threat” narrative of what will happen if China stops Brahmaputra's flow into the country.
Claiming to dismantle the myth – “not with fear, but with facts and national clarity”, he said that Brahmaputra is a river that grows in India and does not shrink.
He explained that most of Brahmaputra's flow is generated due to downpour in the Northeast while glacial melt and limited Tibetan rainfall contribute to only 30-35% of the river's water flow.
The remaining 65-70% is “generated within India, thanks to the torrential monsoon rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Meghalaya”, he said.
Major tributaries like Subansiri, Lohit, Kameng, Manas, Dhansiri, Jia-Bharali, Kopili also contribute to it while additional inflow comes in from the Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia Hills via rivers such as Krishnai, Digaru, and Kulsi, Sarma said.
"At the India-China border (Tuting), the flow of the river is ~2,000-3,000 m³/s while in the plains of Assam like Guwahati, the flow swells to 15,000-20,000 m³/s during monsoon," he added.
The Brahmaputra is not a river India depends on upstream -- it is a rain-fed Indian river system, strengthened after entering Indian territory, Sarma said.
“Brahmaputra is not controlled by a single source -- it is powered by our geography, our monsoon, and our civilisational resilience,” he added.
Sarma pointed out that even if China were to “reduce water flow (unlikely as China has never threatened or indicated in any official forum), it may actually help India mitigate the annual floods in Assam, which displace lakhs and destroy livelihoods every year”.
“Meanwhile, Pakistan, which has exploited 74 years of preferential water access under the Indus Water Treaty, now panics as India rightfully reclaims its sovereign rights,” he said.
PTI