WEB DESK: India has drastically reduced water flow to Pakistan from the Baglihar dam on the Chenab river and is preparing to do the same with the Kishanganga project on the Jhelum. This move follows India’s stated intention to prevent any water from the Indus river system from flowing to its neighbour.
Following a week of preparatory work and hydrological testing, India commenced de-silting operations at the Baglihar dam. This involved lowering the sluice gates, which has resulted in a reduction of downstream flow to Pakistan by as much as 90%. Similar operations are reportedly planned for the Kishanganga dam.
An official from the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation confirmed the actions, stating, “We have closed the gates of the Baglihar hydel power project. We had done de-silting of the reservoir and it has to be refilled. The process was started on Saturday.”
These actions by India occurred shortly after Pakistan conducted a test of its surface-to-surface ballistic missile on Saturday. The move also coincides with India’s ban on ships flying the Pakistani flag from docking at its ports, further escalating tensions between the two nations.
India paused the six-decade-old Indus water treaty with Pakistan, already strained by long-running disputes, a day after terrorists had killed dozens of tourists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.
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On Saturday, authorities of the Jal Shakti ministry updated the Union home ministry on a raft of measures being planned to augment water supply to northern states from the Indus system rivers. “We are ready with stringent punitive measures against Pakistan and nearly 50 engineers from the NHPC are already in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir to oversee the operations,” the first official said.
