'No water channel was ever stopped to Assam', clarifies Bhutan on false media reports

The Bhutan government on Friday said that no water channel was ever stopped between Bhutan and India as stated by some media reports. Bhutan Foreign Ministry said that people of Bhutan, especially those living along the borders of India, deeply value their age-old ties of friendship.

Taking to its official Facebook page, the Bhutanese finance minister Namgay Tshering has said, authorities in his country, "have been doing best to ensure the continuous supply of water to our farmer friends of India from Daifam-Udalguri, Samrang-Bhangtar, Motonga-BokaJulee and Samdrupjongkhar town - Patkikulee".

His post began with "Neighbourhood first" and highlighted the "close friendship between the people of Bhutan & India".

Tshering wrote seven-point clarification on the matter and said, ''Since 24th June 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,'' he added, ''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.''

He further also called it a deliberate attempt by vested interests to spread misinformation and ruin Bhutan's relation with India.

The Minister also said that the heavy monsoon rains and sudden rise in the water levels is posing serious challenges, but the Bhutanese authorities, including with heavy machinery, are on standby to clear any blockage and channel the water whenever there is a problem.

Giving further clarification in the matter, Tshering also asked the Assam farmers to cooperate as there could be few delays in the flow of water due to 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.