Reported By Kelsang Jinpa
Translated By TenGyal
Edited by Pema Tso
Bathang County in Tibet is facing serious challenges from landslides and highway damage, which are linked to the Chinese government’s continued construction of water dam and hydropower projects in the area.
On December 26, reports emerged of landslides and resulting damage along National Highway 215 (NH-215) near Modho Township in Bathang (Batang) County, located in the Karze Region (Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) of Sichuan Province—an administrative division established by the Chinese government.
Although Chinese authorities have publicly attributed the current disaster to natural environmental causes, a Tibetan source stated that the ongoing construction of multiple hydroelectric power plants in the upper reaches of the Drichu River(Yangtze River), particularly in Bathang County and surrounding areas, has directly contributed to the disaster.
The same source explained: “Many Tibetan-inhabited areas along the upper parts of the Drichu River (Yangtze River) continue to experience similar problems, including landslides and road damage. This is primarily due to the Chinese government’s continued construction of new hydroelectric power plants on top of existing ones along the Drichu River. Extensive excavation and tunnel construction in these mountainous valleys have caused severe damage to the natural environment, as evidenced by soil erosion, landslides, and road destruction, particularly during periods of rainfall and storms.”
According to information gathered by Tibet Times, the Chinese government is undertaking projects to construct 27 new hydroelectric power stations in the upper reaches of the Drichu River. Of these, 14 hydroelectric power stations have already been completed along the river’s upper course, which passes through areas including Ngawa (Aba) and Qiang Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Dechen (Deqen) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Bathang County, and Markham County. These completed projects include the The Suwalong Hydropower Station (བཤོལ་བ་ལུང་ཆུ་ཤུགས་གློག་ཁང་།), Thangla Hydropower Station(ཐང་ལ་ཆུ་གློག་ཁང་།), Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station and Liyuan Hydropower Station.
At present, the Chinese government is also constructing 13 additional hydroelectric power plants along the upper reaches of the Drichu River. These include the Lawa Hydropower Station and Batang Hydropower Dam in Bathang County; a hydropower project in Sowo, an located along the border between Bathang and Markham counties; the Kong Tzera (Gongzera/Bēnzǐlán) Hydropower Station in Jol County of Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture; as well as the Shulung, Trangpo, and Yerpathang hydropower plants(ཡེར་པ་ཐང་ཆུ་ཤུགས་གློག་ཁང་། ) in Palyul (Baiyü or Pelyül) County.
The Chinese government initially planned to begin constructing these hydroelectric power stations around 2004. However, due to strong opposition, resistance, and lack of consent from local communities, the projects remained stalled for an extended period. According to official planning, the construction schedule for hydropower stations along the upper reaches of the Drichu River spans from 2012 to 2030.
