Bhutan denies reports of stopping water supply to Assam

Assam, June 27: Clarifying on the false media reports alleging that the Bhutan government stopped the supply of irrigation water to Assam, the Bhutan government issued a statement and called reports as "totally baseless". It further stated saying it is a "deliberate attempt by vested interests to cause misunderstanding between friendly people of Bhutan & Assam.

 

 

In a statement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan, said that since June 24, 2020, there have been several news articles published in India alleging that Bhutan has blocked water channels that supply irrigation water to Indian farmers in Baksa and Udalguri districts in Assam adjoining Samdrup Jongkhar district.

 

"This is a distressing allegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to clarify that the news articles are baseless as there is no reason why the flow of water should be stopped at this time. It is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam," Bhutan said in an official statement.

 

Further, it said, "Baksa and Udalguri districts in Assam have been benefitting from water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with COVID-19 pandemic."

 

Heavy monsoon rains and a sudden rise in water levels, is posing serious challenges but the Bhutanese authorities, equipped with heavy machinery, are on standby to clear blockages. Authorities in Samdrup Jongkhar are also in close contact with their counterparts in Baksa and Udalguri.

 

"The people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, deeply value their age-old ties of friendship and cooperation with the people of India, particularly their close neighbors across the borders in Assam and West Bengal. The people of Bhutan feel that such ties of friendship, cooperation, and support must continue and be reinforced during these difficult times,” the statement said.

 

Issuing a clarification on its Facebook page, the Bhutan Foreign Ministry Namgay Tshering said that people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, deeply value their age-old ties of friendship.

 

Moreover Assam chief secretary, Kumar Sanjay Krishna had also given similar clarification on Twitter saying "Recent media reports about Bhutan blocking water supply to India has been incorrectly reported. The actual reason being the natural blockage of informal irrigation channels into Indian fields! Bhutan has been helping to clear the blockage."

 

 

The reports had emerged on Thursday claiming that Thimphu has stopped releasing channel water for irrigation along its border with India near Assam, affecting thousands of farmers in 25 villages of the region. The report also claimed that the paddy farmers in the Baksa district of Assam staged protests after water supply to their paddy fields were stopped by Bhutan. The channel has been used by farmers of Bhutan and India in the region since 1953.