The gates of Salal Dam, built on the Chenab River in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir were closed earlier due to the recent conflict between India and Pakistan over the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack.
On Friday morning one of the dam’s gates was opened, possibly to manage the overflow due to increased water levels.
The gates were closed after India suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, escalating tensions between the two nations. Meanwhile, 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 moving towards an agreement of cessation of hostilities, the Indian government maintains 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 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 is subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.
To utilise 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, have helped India utilise 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. He 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”. (ANI)
