Brahmaputra blackened by China? Assam sends water samples to Hyderabad lab
Blackened, muddy waters of the Siang triggered conspiracy theories about China constructing a tunnel to divert the water of Yarlung Tsangpo. The Assam government has sent water samples of the Brahmaputra to the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology after reports that the river’s water has turned blackish because of suspected Chinese activities upstream in Tibet. Samples were collected from several points of the 891km river from Sadiya in eastern Assam to Dhubri in the west bordering Bangladesh, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday. The Brahmaputra is formed after three rivers — Lohit, Dibang and Siang, all flowing through Arunachal Pradesh — meet near Sadiya. The Siang originates in Tibet, where the river is called Yarlung Tsangpo. Blackened, muddy waters of the Siang triggered conspiracy theories about China constructing a tunnel to divert the water of Yarlung Tsangpo to the parched Xinjiang province. Beijing denied
