Both the countries have a huge population and increasing energy demands to propel the growth at the current rate. While the Yangtze river project was mainly undertaken to serve the energy needs of the rapidly growing eastern cities of Shangai and central Chinese states, the Narmada river project's main focus was to supply water for the irrigation demands of the vast agricultural regions of the Gujarat and Maharashtra and to provide water supply for the drought prone state of Rajasthan. While China provided quick resettlement for the oustees, in India's case the poor and neglected resettlement program has invited global concern. Both the projects lie in regions that have high tectonic activity and already the environmental impacts are visible in the frequent landslides happening around the Three gorges region. While there is no question of doubt that dams are useful for power generation and to increase agricultural production, the damage...
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