India now has to pay for Brahmaputra flood data
Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 5:08 am
The crucial flood data of Brahmaputra river being shared by China with India will no longer come for free. India will now have to make payments for receiving the data that helps it prepare in advance for floods as the two countries recently signed a fresh five-year MoU.
Under the MoU, China will provide India the hydrological information, including water level, discharge and rainfall from its three stations located at Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia from June 1 to October 15 every year.
The details will enable India to improve flood forecasting and timely warning for mitigation measures.
The data was being given to India for free from 2002 but China now wants payment for the information it would send between 2008 and 2012, sources in the Union Water Resources Ministry told the media.
“After a fresh bilateral understanding, we will have to provide a token amount to it to maintain the staff and equipment at the monitoring stations located in inhospitable terrains,” the sources said, adding modalities would be worked out later.
New Delhi had first entered into a MoU with Beijing for sharing of hydrological information on downstream Brahmaputra river in flood season by China in 2002.
The Brahmaputra originates in south-west Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo. It is also called Yarlung Zangbo in China.
While India has been getting flood data of Brahmaputra free, it has been paying a token sum of around Rs 10 lakh per flood season to China for getting flood season data for Sutlej river.
China has set up a monitoring station at Tsada on its side to provide India with the data.
The two governments had decided to set up an expert-level mechanism to discuss interaction and cooperation on the provision of flood season hydrological data, emergency management and other issues regarding trans-border rivers during Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to India in November 2006.
(Agencies)
( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)
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