Gaurav Gogoi urges Centre to take up China's dam project

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday demanded that the government take up with China the latter's decision to construct a mega dam on Yarlung Tsangpo river close to the border and that water-sharing management must be a key component of India's diplomatic engagement with China.

Raising the issue during the zero hour in the Lok Sabha, Congress member Gaurav Gogoi said, "The river Brahmaputra is the lifeline of Assam and a major strategic asset of India. China's recent decision to construct the world's largest dam across Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra raises severe concerns of India's water scarcity. I demand that water-sharing management must be a key component of India's diplomatic engagement with China."

Sanskrit issue

Speaker Om Birla countered DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran's opposition to Sanskrit being added to the fresh list of languages - including Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Manipuri and Urdu - to the existing list of more than a dozen of languages for simultaneous translations of the House proceedings.