Harnessing the Himalayas Why strategic hydropower is NE India’s ecological and economic shield

Dr Atop Lego
Contd from previous issue
The Siang is the continuation of the Yarlung Tsangpo, which originates in Tibet. China is
already aggressively pursuing mega-dam projects upstream on the Tsangpo, including a proposed super-dam at the Great Bend just before the river enters India.
In international water law, "prior appropriation" or establishing "user rights" is critical. If India
fails to build substantial storage and usage infrastructure on its side of the border, it risks losing its lower riparian rights. An upstream superpower
could theoretically manipulate water flow—hoarding water during dry
seasons to cause
droughts, or releasing massive torrents
during the monsoon to create artificial floods (often termed "water bombs"). Building SUMP is therefore a scientific and strategic imperative to establish India's rightful claim to the river's yield and to buffer against any upstream hydrological
manipulation.
Finally, there is the global imperative of the clean energy transition. As India races toward its Net Zero emissions target by 2070, it is heavily expanding its solar and wind capacities.
However, solar and wind are inherently intermittent—they do not produce power when the sun sets or the wind stops. To maintain grid stability, a robust "baseload" power source is mathematically necessary. Coal provides this currently, but to phase out coal, hydro-electricity is the most viable, clean alternative.
Hydropower provides rapid-response "inertia" to the power grid, capable of ramping up in minutes to stabilize energy
 supply.
The narrative that any massive intervention in the Himalayas is inherently disastrous is an outdated perspective that ignores modern scientific
capability. Rivers left entirely to their own devices in an era of extreme climate change are becoming a source of unmitigated disaster for downstream communities.
Through rigorous geological surveying, cutting-edge seismic engineering, and precise hydrological modelling, infrastructure like the Siang Upper Multipurpose
Project can be executed safely.  By embracing science over apprehension, Northeast India can transform its untamed rivers from perennial sources of sorrow into the engines of its economic prosperity and ecological security.
The author is a retired Chief Engineer (PWD) and Seismic & Structural Consultant