HT Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, June 30: As part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, the Dibrugarh Press Club on Monday organised a lecture under its “Aamar Alohi” series at Jagriti Hall on the topic “Mega Dam on Yarlung Tsangpo and Its Possible Impact: From Dibrugarh to Guwahati and Bangladesh.”
Delivering the lecture, eminent geologist and retired Dibrugarh University professor Dr Jogendranath Sharma warned that China’s proposed Medog Hydropower Project could trigger severe natural disasters downstream in Assam.
Approved in December 2024, the 60,000-MW project—60 times larger than India’s biggest dams—is being constructed in the seismically active and ecologically sensitive Medog County.
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Dr Sharma highlighted threats such as erosion from “hungry water,” groundwater disruption, altered monsoon patterns, and risks to biodiversity and the livelihoods of over two million fishermen.
He called for a joint Indo-China Environmental Impact Assessment and cautioned that a dam collapse during an earthquake could lead to devastation akin to the 1950 Assam earthquake.
While noting that the Yarlung Tsangpo contributes only around five percent of the Brahmaputra’s flow in Bangladesh, Sharma emphasised that the potential risks of the dam remain significant.
He also referred to India’s proposed 11,000-MW Siang project as a possible countermeasure, though it too raises environmental concerns.
A delegation from the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF), Arunachal Pradesh, also participated in the programme and voiced their opposition to the Siang Upper Multi-Purpose Project, to be implemented by NHPC on the Siang river.
The event was anchored by Dibrugarh Press Club General Secretary Ripunjoy Das and attended by several distinguished guests, including All India Radio and Doordarshan Programme Head Lohit Deka, senior journalists Iqbal Ahmed, Ron Dowerah, Lakhikanta Majindar Baruah, Lalit Sharma, Anil Poddar, Prabir Chakraborty, Ajoy Dutta, Sourav Dowerah, and journalists from Dibrugarh and Tinsukia, along with Gandhapati Chungkrang, Director of the NE Fire Services Academy.
Dr Jogendranath Sharma was honoured by the Dibrugarh Press Club with a phulam gamocha, memento, and citation in recognition of his contributions. The Press Club also expressed its gratitude to NEFSA for sponsoring the programme.
