Bhutan rejects claims of stopping irrigation water supply to Assam
Reports emerged claiming that Bhutan has stopped the release of channel water that’s used for irrigation in bordering Assam, affecting thousands of farmers from around 25 villages in the state.
Thimphu: Bhutan on Friday rejected the media reports claiming that it has stopped the supply of irrigation water to farmers in Assam, terming them totally baseless and a "deliberate attempt" by vested interests to cause misunderstanding with India
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 totally baseless as there is no reason why the flow of water should be stopped at this time, it said.
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 actually helping to clear the blockage. pic.twitter.com/H61c5T1EeJ
— Kumar Sanjay Krishna (@KrSanjayKrishna) June 25, 2020
It is a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and cause misunderstanding between the friendly people of Bhutan and Assam, the ministry said.
Bhutan issues clarification, states that media reports alleging that they (Bhutan) have stopped the supply of irrigation water to areas in Assam "are totally baseless" & "deliberate attempt by vested interests to cause misunderstanding between friendly people of Bhutan & Assam." pic.twitter.com/PQ4F2hcH40
— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2020
