Ramban, May 14: All the gates of the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project Dam, which is built on the Chenab river in Ramban, have been closed for the second consecutive day. The gates of the Baglihar dam were opened on May 8 following the heavy rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir, which could have caused flooding. Despite reaching out to an agreement of cessation of hostilities, the Indian government maitains its stance on the Indus Water Treaty which is still in abeyance. The treaty was suspended following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Indus system comprises of main Indus River, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan. Under the Indus Waters Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of three rivers, namely Ravi, Sutlej and Beas ( Eastern Rivers) averaging around 33 million acre feet ( MAF) were allocated to India for exclusive use. The waters of Western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab averaging to around 135 MAF were allocated to Pakistan except for specified domestic, non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the Treaty.
India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river (RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted. To utilize the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to India for exclusive use, India has constructed Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi. These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link, Indira Gandhi Nahar Project etc has helped India utilize most of the waters of waters of Eastern rivers. In his address to the nation on May 12, PM Modi said that after the surgical strike in 2016 and the air strike in 2019, now Operation Sindoor is India’s policy against terrorism.
The Prime Minister referred to India putting in abeyance the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack and said water and blood cannot flow together”. He also said that if there are talks with Pakistan, it will be only on terrorism and vacating Pakistan-occupied Kashmir which is under its illegal occupation.
The Prime Minister said that Operation Sindoor, launched in response to Pahalgam terror attack, has carved out a new benchmark in India’s fight against terrorism and has set up a new parameter and new normal.–(ANI)
