Following India’s border troubles with China, Pakistan, and Nepal, allegations over Bhutan stopping the water supply to Assam in India sparked doubt fire and debate in the media. People claimed that farmers in Guwahati had held protests regarding the sudden stoppage of water supply for irrigation, and accused Bhutan of cutting its water supply, that flows from man-made irrigation channel ‘Dong’ in Bhutan.
Earlier, Assamese farmers used to enter Bhutan to maintain the irrigation channels. However, the practice has been stopped due to lockdown.
Coming out in response to these claims, the Bhutan government replied that these claims were baseless and that they were merely repairing the channels. “This is a distressing allegation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to clarify that the news articles are totally 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.
Bhutan further added that due to the present difficult situation posed by the pandemic, it was becoming increasingly difficult for both the governments to cater to the needs of the inhabitants of both sides. It said that “disruptions caused by the heavy monsoon rains and the operational difficulties arising from the restrictions put in place by both the countries due to COVID-19”, saying that the canal will soon be reopened for use by the public.
Assam’s Chief Secretary also came out in reassurance of this issue, saying that Bhutan was merely removing the boulders that had been obstructing the flow of water.