The Government on Thursday said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had taken up the matter of pollution in the Brahmaputra river with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during their bilateral talks on Monday.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the pollution in Brahmaputra river was a matter of concern for the Government. “We are coordinating with the Ministry of Water resources and we have ascertained certain facts. The matter did come up during EAM's meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister,” Raveesh said.
Brahmaputra is called Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and flows as Yarlung Tsangpo from southern Tibet. The river has turned black due to contamination with certain elements including cement. News reports have claimed that China is secretly building a tunnel to divert the Brahmaputra waters. China has denied this.
Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu and his Assam counterpart Sarbanand Sonowal have both flagged the issue following which the Prime Minister issued directions to the Central Ministries concerned to look into the matter.