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Siang water level rises marginally

By The Assam Tribune

ITANAGAR, March 1 � The water level of the Siang river at Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh rose slightly this morning after it sharply fell last evening causing panic among people, reports PTI.

Though Pasighat Deputy Commissioner Talem Tapok said the rise in the water level could be because of heavy rainfall in the catchment areas last night, government officials said they would request the Centre to investigate the causes.

A government spokesman said last night that people of the century-old Pasighat town in East Siang district had found that the water level of the river, known as the Brahmaputra in Assam and the Meghna in Bangladesh, receded so much that it almost dried.

Tako Dabi, the government spokesman, said that the phenomenon had never been witnessed before.

But in June 9, 2000 the Siang had risen suddenly by 30 metres inundating almost the entire township claiming seven lives besides causing widespread damage to property following the collapse of a hydropower dam in Tibet.

The chief engineer of the Water Resources Development Department WRD, L Angu, told PTI this morning that there was nothing to worry about since for the last several years there was no consistency in the water flow in the river.

Rajya Sabha member from the state Mukut Mithi said all rivers in the state, including the Siang, recorded extremely low water level because of scanty rainfall this monsoon.

Tako Dabi, who inspected the spot last night, was apprehensive that either China might have diverted the water of the river which is known as Yarlong Tsangpo in Tibet or there could be some artificial blockade.

WRD minister Newlai Tingkhatra said that he had alerted the district administration and the disaster management department to be in vigil for any eventuality.

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