Hundreds of villagers from different parts of Assam have staged protests this week alleging that Bhutan had stopped supply of irrigation water.
The Bhutanese government has, however, come forward and stated that these are mere rumours generated to create a misunderstanding between the people of Assam and Bhutan, ANI reported.
India is currently engaged in a military standoff with China and rumours were rife that it was on China’s behalf that Bhutan stopped the flow of the irrigation water.
The Bhutan Foreign Ministry on Friday wrote on its Facebook page, “It 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.”
The statement further read, “Baksa and Udalguri Districts in Assam have been benefitting from the water sources in Bhutan for many decades and they continue to do so even during the present difficult times when we are faced with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to the Bhutan government, Indian farmers have not been able to enter the Bhutanese side to maintain the irrigation channels as they usually do and this has led to problems in the water supply.
