Chinese geologists question safety of Brahmaputra dam near India, Pg16

Key Highlights:

• Chinese geologists have identified an active fault line, the Paizhen Fault, beneath the proposed Medog Hydropower Station on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River in Tibet.
• This mega-dam project, intended to be the world's largest, is located near the "Great Bend" of the river, approximately 50 km from India's border with Arunachal Pradesh.
• The study, supervised by the state-owned China Geological Survey, warns that the fault's activity since the Pleistocene epoch could compromise the dam's structural stability.
• The project, with an estimated cost of $167.8 billion, aims to generate over 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
• India has consistently expressed concerns regarding China's upstream projects on the Brahmaputra, citing potential risks to water security and downstream communities.

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Detailed Insights:

• The Medog Hydropower Station is a planned 60,000-megawatt run-of-the-river project, three times the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam.
• Construction officially began in July 2025, with commercial operations targeted for 2033.
• The Paizhen Fault is part of a network of tectonic breaks in the eastern Himalayan region, formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
• Researchers cited the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Milin, Tibet, in 2017 as evidence of the fault's continued seismic activity.
• The study suggests that prolonged fault activity has fractured and weakened surrounding rock formations, making foundations vulnerable to damage.
• The terrain around the reservoir has a loose structure and weak cohesion, increasing the risk of landslides and slope instability, especially after water immersion or during earthquakes.
• India has formally conveyed its concerns to China, urging transparency, consultation with downstream countries, and safeguarding the rights of lower riparian states.
• The Yarlung Tsangpo flows into India as the Siang River before becoming the Brahmaputra in Assam and then the Jamuna River in Bangladesh.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved:

• Active Fault Line: A fracture in the Earth's crust where movement has occurred recently or is expected to occur, capable of generating earthquakes.
• Hydropower Project: A facility that generates electricity by harnessing the energy of flowing or falling water, typically through a dam and turbines.
• Pleistocene Epoch: A geological epoch that began about 2.6 million years ago and ended about 11,700 years ago, characterized by repeated glacial cycles.
• Tectonic Plates: Large, rigid slabs of Earth's lithosphere that move slowly over the mantle, causing geological phenomena like earthquakes and mountain building.