According to a media report, Chinese authorities have detained over 100 Tibetan Buddhist monks and local residents in Sichuan province's southwestern region to suppress protests against the construction of a massive dam. This dam project would inundate six Buddhist monasteries and necessitate the relocation of two villages.
Residents of Wangbuding township in Dege County, part of the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, have been demonstrating since February 14 against the construction of the 2,240-megawatt Gangtuo hydropower station on the Drichu River, also known as the Jinsha River in Chinese.
The dam is situated on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, a critical waterway in China, as reported by Radio Free Asia. The protests began on February 14, with hundreds of Tibetans gathering outside the Dege county town hall to voice their opposition to the dam's construction, defying strict controls on public gatherings and extensive surveillance in Sichuan and Tibet.
The arrests reportedly took place in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, an area densely populated by ethnic Tibetans. Some protesters were allegedly subjected to harsh treatment, with several requiring hospitalization.
Law enforcement used water cannons, pepper spray, and tasers to quell the protests. Videos from the demonstrations showed monks pleading with officials not to demolish Yena and Wonto monasteries during inspections prior to their destruction.
The Yebatan hydropower station, valued at USD 4.6 billion, is the largest hydropower project in the upper Jinsha River. Its completion is expected to bring the total installed capacity to 2,240 megawatts, with a maximum dam height of 217 meters. The project is currently under construction and is set to become China's tallest hyperbolic arch dam.
Local residents expressed deep concern over the dam's impact, particularly its destruction of six monasteries, including the ancient Wonto Monastery with its 13th-century murals.
The dam construction will also necessitate the resettlement of Upper Wonto and Shipa villages, as well as several monasteries in Dege county and Chamdo township.
Tibet, known as the "Roof of the World," is the source of major rivers like the Brahmaputra, Indus, and Yangtze. China has intensified efforts to construct large hydropower projects in Tibet, including the world's largest hydroelectric dam on the Brahmaputra River near the Arunachal Pradesh border, raising concerns among downstream states like India and Bangladesh.
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