Secretary of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation V L Kantha Rao led an Indian delegation to Bhutan to discuss matters related to cooperation on transboundary rivers and to review the ongoing activities of the Punatsangchhu-I Hydro Electric Project being implemented in Bhutan in partnership with the Government of India.

 

The Ministry of Jal Shakti in a statement said that during the Secretary level bilateral meeting, the two sides reviewed the existing mechanisms of bilateral cooperation between India and Bhutan in flood management and flood forecasting. It noted that further deliberations focused on strengthening and modernising the existing hydro-meteorological observation network in Bhutan on trans-border rivers, improving data-sharing mechanisms for hydro-meteorological and flood forecasting data relating to trans-border rivers.

 

The Ministry noted that discussion also focused on enhancing collaboration in capacity building and technical exchanges, and addressing emerging challenges arising from climate change, glacial lake outburst floods, and extreme weather events.