China started sharing hydrological data for Brahmaputra and Sutlej from 2002 and 2005 (File)
China has started sharing hydrological data on Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers, an annual exercise of giving information on these two water bodies to India, sources said on Tuesday.
The sharing of data by China on Sutlej and Brahmaputra comes amid strained relations between the two neighbours.
In 2017, China had stopped sharing the data citing that the hydrological gathering sites were washed away due to floods. It also coincided with the 73-day Doklam stand-off between the two neighbours that took place during the peak monsoon period.
It began sharing data again from 2018.
India and China have signed an agreement under which Beijing shares hydrological data with New Delhi. Under the agreement, for the Brahmaputra River, the data is shared by China from May 15.
In the case of Sutlej, the data is shared from June 1.
The data is also shared twice daily until October 15.
China started sharing hydrological data for Brahmaputra and Sutlej from 2002 and 2005 respectively.
The data is important in flood forecasting done by the Central Water Commission.
The information is being shared from three hydrological stations -- Nugesha, Yangcun and Nuxia, lying on the mainstream of the Brahmaputra, also known as Yarlung Zangbo in China, officials at the Jal Shakti Ministry said.
For Sutlej, known as Langqen Zangbod, data is shared from a station at Tsada, the official said.
The Brahmaputra originates from Tibet and flows into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and later drains into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh.