Beijing, October 30

Chinese engineers are testing techniques that could be used to build a 1,000-km long tunnel, the world’s longest, to carry water from the Brahmaputra in Tibet close to Arunachal Pradesh to the parched Xinjiang region, a media report said today.The move, expected to “turn Xinjiang into California”, has raised concerns among environmentalists about its likely impact on the Himalayan region, a Hong Kong-based daily reported. The proposed tunnel, which would drop down from the world’s highest plateau in multiple sections connected by waterfalls, would provide water in China’s largest administrative division, comprising vast swathes of deserts and dry grasslands.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The water would be diverted from the Yarlung Tsangpo river in southern Tibet, which turns into the Brahmaputra once it enters India, to the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang. China’s longest tunnel is the 85-km Dahuofang water project in Liaoning province, while the world’s longest tunnel is the 137-km main water supply pipe beneath the city of New York.India, a riparian state, has already flagged its concerns to Beijing about various dams being built by it on the Brahmaputra, which is known as Yarlung Tsangpo in China.  Beijing has been assuring India and Bangladesh, which is also a recipient of the waters from the river, that its dams were of the run of river projects and not designed to storing water.Wang Wei, a researcher who helped draft the latest Tibet-Xinjiang water tunnel proposal, said over 100 scientists formed different teams for the nationwide research.  The team suggested to drain Brahmaputra at Sangri county in southern Tibet. — PTI

Commanders meet

• Military commanders of India and China met at the Bum La (pass), north of the historic monastery town of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, on Monday
• The Indian delegation was led by Brig MP Singh and the Chinese delegation by Sr Col Liu Jiang Xun
• A defence spokesman said thaw in the relations was evident during the meeting as both delegations interacted in a free, congenial and cordial environment TNS