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Chinese action attracts global media

By Staff reporter

GUWAHATI, July 11 � The issue of dams constructed or proposed in and around the Brahmaputra river by China has attracted the attention of the international media. To get to the crux of the matter which has been intensely pushed by the Assam Foundation-India, Yukifemi Takeuchi, the chief reporter of the second largest Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun was in the capital city.

Apart from studying the different dimension of �Save the Brahmaputra River�, a Indo British project launched last year by the Assam Foundation-India to highlight the threat to the Brahmaputra from China, Takeuchi also took note of the challenges to the Brahmaputra in the form of waste disposal, pollution, etc.

It needs to be mentioned here that China�s stand on dams in and around the Brahmaputra has been a matter of concern for the international community as it will have disastrous environmental, cultural and ecological impact.

The chairman of the project Arnab Jan Deka, an environmental engineer said that efforts are on to mobilize international opinion against the construction of dams by China around the Brahmaputra. �The international community is responding to our project,� he said, adding that making of a documentary on ways to save the Brahmaputra was underway.

For this documentary, top river scientists and environmental engineers in the world will be interviewed.

Referring to the issue of construction of dams around the Brahmaputra by China, Deka said that the international media was taking interest in the issue.

The Brahmaputra is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo and Deka said that one dam was already constructed by China, seven others were under construction and one more has been proposed. The Zangmu project with 510 MW capacity and currently under construction by China has caused much concern in India.

On the other hand, Deka said that the project was also giving attention to creation of awareness for preventing waste disposal in the river Brahmaputra, tree-felling on the banks of Brahmaputra and creation of alternative agricultural practices so as not to affect the Brahmaputra in a negative way.

�Under the project, we are looking into scientific, eco-friendly ways to prevent flood and erosions by Brahmaputra and to improve current flood taming measures for improving the living conditions of affected riverine people,� said Deka.

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