 "Chenab water level declines: Is it a fallout of PM Modi’s Indus waters decision?")
Days after India put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, the authorities have restricted the flow of waters of Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir.
The authorities have restricted the flow of waters at the Baglihar and Salal hydro-electric dams on Chenab and are planning similar measures at the Kishanganga Dam on Jhelum, according to Daily Excelsior.
Both of these rivers are part of the Indus river system and flow into Pakistan.
When India announced the suspension of the Indus treaty , experts had pointed out that while India cannot stop the flow of Indus river system’s waters from flowing into Pakistan or divert waters elsewhere into India completely, it can tamper with the flow by stopping the water for prolonged period or reducing the flow or releasing it suddenly without advance communication. Such tampering can create scarcity and excess problems in Pakistan.
Last month, the sudden release of release of Jhelum's water sparked panic in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) where residents in some areas were reported to have sought refuge in safer place and authorities were confused about how to deal with the situation.
Fallout of Indus treaty’s suspension?
Officials told The Excelsior that the dams at Baglihar in J&K’s Ramban, Salal in Reasi, and Kishanganga in Bandipora offer India the ability to regulate the timing of release of water.
Now that the Indus treaty stands suspended, India has no obligation of informing Pakistan in advance about the restriction of waters or release of waters.
A senior official told the newspaper that gates of these dams were opened to allow water flow towards Reasi after heavy rain in the upper reaches. The official said the release caused flood-like situation in low-lying areas of Reasi and Akhnoor and also caused some damage in Pakistan.
This morning, however, the gates of the Baglihar dam were closed and the water flow was completely stopped, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper reported that the closure of the gates turned the Chenab riverbed at Ramban and in downstream areas completely dry. The report further said after the flow of water from Salal dam was also reduced, water scarcity aggravated in Pakistan.
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Sources told the newspaper that authorities are deliberating over the construction of a large canal in Akhnoor to irrigate areas of Jammu, Ramgarh, Samba, and Kathua districts.
Such a plan appears to be part of the Narendra Modi government’s plan to maximise the retention of Indus river system’s waters inside India and minimise the flow of waters into Pakistan.
As Firstpost has previously reported , the government has decided to ramp up infrastructure to retain, divert, and repurpose water that currently flows into Pakistan in the medium- to long-term, according to sources.
The government has decided to ramp up desilting of existing dams and fast-tracking of under-construction hydropower plants and reservoirs and look at redirection of rivers to maximise retention of water inside India and minimise the flow of water into Pakistan, as per sources.
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