Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma mentioned on Tuesday that “if China had been to scale back water circulate (into the Brahmaputra)”, it could assist mitigate Assam’s annual floods.
His feedback had been made in a put up on social media in response to what he mentioned was a “risk” from Pakistan on the opportunity of China obstructing the circulate of water from the Brahmaputra, which originates because the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet. The chief minister’s feedback come in opposition to the backdrop of India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror assault in April.
“China contributes solely roughly 30-35% of the Brahmaputra’s whole circulate — principally by glacial soften and restricted Tibetan rainfall. The remaining 65-70% is generated inside India, due to torrential monsoon rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Meghalaya; main tributaries like Subansiri, Lohit, Kameng, Manas, Dhansiri, Jia-Bharali, Kopili; and extra inflows from the Khasi, Garo, and Jaintia Hills by way of rivers equivalent to Krishnai, Digaru, and Kulsi,” he wrote on X.
Within the put up, he wrote that on the Indo-China border, the place the Tsangpo enters Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh because the Siang river, the river circulate is round 2,000-3,000 cubic metre per second and that within the Assam plains at Guwahati, the circulate swells to round 15,000-20,000 cubic metre per second throughout monsoon.
What If China Stops Brahmaputra Water to India?
A Response to Pakistan’s New Scare NarrativeAfter India decisively moved away from the outdated Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan is now spinning one other manufactured risk:
“What if China stops the Brahmaputra’s water to India?”…— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 2, 2025
Citing these figures, he wrote that the Brahmaputra “just isn’t a river India relies on upstream” and “is a rain-fed Indian river system, strengthened after coming into Indian territory.”
“Even when China had been to scale back water circulate (unlikely as China has by no means threatened or indicated in any official discussion board), it could truly assist India mitigate the annual floods in Assam, which displace lakhs and destroy livelihoods yearly,” he wrote.
“In the meantime, Pakistan — which has exploited 74 years of preferential water entry below the Indus Waters Treaty — now panics as India rightfully reclaims its sovereign rights.,” he wrote. Let’s remind them: Brahmaputra is not managed by a single supply — it’s powered by our geography, our monsoon, and our civilisational resilience.”
His feedback additionally come at a time when the Brahmaputra and several other different rivers in Assam are flowing above the hazard degree, and floods have hit a number of components of the Northeast.