First it was the Siang. Now it is the mighty Brahmaputra itself which is turning into a black muddy river. The fact that the government, NGOs, water experts and civilians who use the river offer radically different reasons for not just the pollution, but also its extent, is symptomatic of a far more dangerous malaise.
The Yarlung Tsangpo (the highest major river in the world) becomes the Siang when it descends into Arunachal Pradesh from the Tibetan mountains, merges with the Lohit and Dibang to become the Brahmaputra just before it enters Assam, and then joins the Ganga in Bangladesh.
In late October, the South China Morning Post reported that Beijing was testing equipment and technology to divert the Yarlung Tsangpo to the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang through a series of tunnels and waterfalls.
Beijing immediately and vehemently denied any such plans. Days later, the first reports surfaced about the Siang suddenly turning black and slushy, at a time when the waters are usually crystal clear. Soon, reports of fish and even livestock dying downstream started surfacing. A worried Arunachal MP sent a letter to the PM blaming Chinese construction activity in Tibet, while CM Pema Khandu declared he had personally inspected the water and found it “unfit for drinking and aquatic life.” A day later, the Union minister of state for water resources cited an earthquake in Tibet as a possible reason for the pollution. Another official blamed hectic road construction in the state.
But as officials bicker over the extent and cause of the pollution, reports indicate it has spread downstream. “Brahmaputra has suddenly become muddy. So we have tested few samples in Tezpur … The sample shows the water containing a lot of mineral properties,” Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Tuesday. “And people are also saying there is a lot of cement which has now mixed with the water.” It is time New Delhi sat up and took notice—before one of India’s mightiest rivers turns into a concrete highway.