The BJP-led Assam Government has decided to urge the Centre to pressurise the China to make available this year’s hydrological data, which the neighbouring country had not shared this year.
Assam Government spokesman and State Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said this today and added that the data hydrological data from China this year assumes significance particularly due to some speculation that release of excess waters by China this year had led to the third wave of floods in Assam which had wrecked havoc in the State.
“The Ministry of External Affairs had recently stated that China had not shared any hydrological data this year. This assumes significance as the magnitude of flood in the third wave and the amount of rainfall in Assam and northeast during that time does not correlate,” Sarma said adding that Government of Assam has decided to impress upon the Centre so that the neighbouring country could be pressurised diplomatically.
“The third wave of flood in Assam came suddenly within 24 hours. However, during was not much rainfall that time either in Assam or in Arunachal Pradesh. So where these excess water came fromIJ” he asked.
It may be mentioned here that the third wave of flood that have hit the State after August 8 this year submerged 25 districts and affected 32 lakh people and led to killing of over 70 civilians in different flood affected areas.
According to a India-China Expert-level mechanism started in 2006, China is supposed to share hydrological data during the flood season for Brahmaputra and Satluj rivers between May 15 to October 15 every year.
The hydrological data from China is a riparian right for downstream countries like India and Bangladesh and it is required basically to prepare an early warning system.
“The riparian countries could plan for handling eventualities with the help of hydrological data. We must try to generate a public opinion in this regard so that the Central government could pressurize the Chinese government to share the hydrological data through diplomatic measures and international organizations like the United Nations,” he said.