NEW DELHI, March 2 � Rattled by reports of diversion of the Siang river by China, Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) has clarified that apprehensions expressed by the Arunachal Pradesh Government regarding possible diversion of the Brahmaputra are not correct and devoid of facts.
The Government of India keeps a constant watch on all developments in China having a bearing on India�s interests and takes necessary measures to protect them, an official spokesman said. He said that the changes in river flows are a natural phenomenon dependent on various hydro-meteorological and climatological factors. The Central Water Commission (CWC) collects and analyses the hydrological data relating to all major rivers in the country including river Siang consisting of rainfall, runoff and temperature.
On river Siang, CWC has been maintaining water level and discharge data at Pasighat in East Siang district and at Tuting in Upper Siang district, very near the international border with Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China. CWC has examined the water level and river discharges starting from November last to February at these sites, sources said.
It has been observed that there has neither been any abnormal rise or fall in water flow of river Siang on these sites during this period nor any significant change in the quantum of water coming from TAR, China at the entry point in India, said sources.
The water level at Pasighat in the month of February fluctuated between 151.62 m to 151.76 m and river discharges from 1175.02 to 1262.11 cumecs. The discharge observed at Pasighat on February 29 was 1262.11 cumecs and 2651.52 cumecs on March 1, 2012. The increase in discharge at Pasighat on March 1 is due to heavy rainfall in the intervening catchment on February 29 and March 1.
The incoming water level in river Siang at Tuting, very close to international border in the month of February 2012 varied between 403.44 m to 403.78 m and river flows between 932.9 cumecs to 1035.88 cumecs and there are no abnormal changes in the flows at the point of entry of river Siang in India.
