Times of India, Guwahati
February 16, 2015
GUWAHATI: With Assam being located in the downstream of many rivers flowing down from Bhutan and with construction of dams and hydropower projects being proposed in the neighbouring country, experts are increasingly raising the need for making the water information sharing mechanism more effective.
Environment NGOs Aaranyak, Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) and International Rivers (IR) have decided to hold a day-long consultation on Tuesday here on sharing trans-boundary water information between India and Bhutan.
Experts will deliberate on how to go about with sharing information on dams and hydropower projects in Bhutan and how to develop mechanisms on sharing information across the border.
Aaranyak’s Partha J Das said the last few years had seen increased discussion at various levels about the implication on India in general and Assam in particular of the ongoing as well as proposed construction of dams and hydropower projects in Bhutan.
“However, very limited authentic information exists as to the current state of dam building in Bhutan. Very little information exists as to which projects are proposed, their capacities, current status and the likely impact due to their construction and operation,” Das said.
He added that the upcoming consultation is aimed at understanding the situation better so that the state can have an insight into the current state of dam building in Bhutan.
