India prepares dams to store more water, lines up multiple actions to choke Pak
File photo
NEW DELHI: Limited flushing and desilting of reservoirs of two run-of-the-river hydro-power projects - Baglihar and Salal - on the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir—are being undertaken by India in an immediate move to prepare them for storing and regulating flow of water to Pakistan during the winters. More dams will undergo the process in coming days to ensure better storage in India.
The move is part of the country's detailed roadmap, prepared after suspension of the
Indus Water Treaty
(IWT) following the Pahalgam terror attack last month, to prevent and regulate flow of western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab - to the neighbouring country.
Flushing is a process to clear sediments from the reservoir by operating it in a particular way using high water flow whereas desilting can be done through dredging to remove large deposited sediment.
'Since the Treaty is on pause and there is no obligation to follow its provisions, we may do flushing on any project without any obligation. It will ensure longer effective life of such projects,' Kushvinder Vohra, former chairman, Central Water Commission, told TOI.
He said typical projects like Baglihar and Kishanganga with smaller live poundages may complete the flushing process in about one to two days.
Desilting/flushing of reservoirs is part of short-term measures under the roadmap whereas expediting under construction hydro-power projects such as Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kiru (624 MW) and Kwar (540 mw) would be the medium-term measure.
Curbing flow of nine cusecs of water from Kishanganga as required as per earlier award and using it for production of more power for India would be another measure that can be taken up in short-term, Vohra said.
There are four more power projects which are in the pipeline as long-term measures which will make it possible for India to utilise adequate water from the western rivers using accompanying reservoirs. These projects will not only increase India's hydro-power capacity in Jammu & Kashmir from nearly 4,000 MW to over 10,000 MW but also increase the water storage capacity which can be used in the UT and neighbouring states.
Other measures under the roadmap include taking up Tulbul project on Jhelum which was stalled earlier; works on Wuller lake and Jhelum for better flood management; lift projects which may take comparatively lesser time to use water; and adequate use of existing Ranbir and Pratap canals to ensure more water for Jammu region.
'Many other things can also be done which may unfold at an appropriate time,' said Vohra.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
United News of India
3 hours ago
- United News of India
In Washington, Bilawal Bhutto praises Donald Trump for helping de-escalate tensions with India
Washington/Islamabad, June 5 (UNI) Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) Chairman and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who is visiting Washington, has expressed appreciation for the US, especially President Donald Trump, for his 'constructive role in helping de-escalate tensions' with India. Bilawal has also appreciated the US for 'supporting efforts towards a ceasefire' with India, Dawn reported. Bilawal, who is leading a high-level delegation to the US, held a series of meetings with US Congress members in Washington, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday. Pakistan has launched a broad-based engagement campaign in the United States to present its perspective on the recent spike in tensions with India, and counter New Delhi's growing lobbying presence there. As part of its global outreach, the team will also visit London and Brussels. Besides Bilawal Bhutto, the team comprises former foreign ministers Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurram Dastgir; Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Sabzwari and Bushra Anjum Butt; along with senior envoys Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua. During Wednesday's discussions at Capitol Hill, the delegation discussed the Kashmir issue, and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), among other issues. Meanwhile, members of the US Congress urged 'both countries to demonstrate restraint and prioritise regional peace and stability', Radio Pakistan stated. They reiterated the "US' support for the people of Pakistan and its commitment to aiding the country's economic progress". Earlier, Bilawal posted on X that his team met with Congressmen Jack Bergman and Tom Suozzi, who co-chair the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, along with Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar and Republican Party's Ryan Keith Zinke. Bergman and Suozzi were among a group of lawmakers who visited Pakistan in April and met with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, along with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. Bergman has repeatedly voiced support for former prime minister Imran Khan, calling for his release. He also met with Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on South and Central Asia. Bilawal further met with Republican Senator Jim Banks for a 'candid discussion' on regional peace and security […] and appreciated the 'critical peacemaker role played by President Trump in facilitating the ceasefire understanding, intended as a pathway to broader, sustained peace and dialogue'. A day ago, the delegation concluded its two-day visit to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where it met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, along with elected and permanent members of the UN Security Council. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, visited Moscow from June 2 to June 4, and met with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and a senior aide to President Vladimir Putin. Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif credited Trump 'for playing a decisive role in ensuring a ceasefire'. Addressing an event at the US Embassy in Islamabad marking the 249th anniversary of American independence, Sharif said Trump had shown beyond any doubt that 'he is a man for peace … and beneficial business deals'. He added, 'President Trump is a man against escalation and a man against cold and hot war.' UNI RN
News18
3 hours ago
- News18
Bilawal Bhutto Revives Nuclear Rhetoric As India Keeps Indus Treaty On Hold: Report
Last Updated: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that India is violating the Indus Waters Treaty and said that cutting off Pakistan's water supply amounts to an act of war. Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has claimed that India is laying the ground for the first nuclear war over its action on the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). 'In the age of climate challenges that are to come, water scarcity and water wars used to be a theory. India shutting off Pakistan's water supply is laying the foundations for the first nuclear water war," the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) chairman said while addressing the Middle East Institute in Washington, according to Dawn. 'We have said that cutting off our water supply would be an act of war," he added. 'We don't say it in a jingoistic manner. We don't say it with any relish. It is an existential crisis for us. Any country on the planet, no matter their size, their strength or their ability, would fight for their survival and fight for their water," Bilawal said, adding that 'India must abide by the IWT and the US and other countries must take a firm stance to not allow it to violate the treaty." 'If India is allowed to cut off our water, that means that every upper riparian with hostilities to a lower riparian now has a carte blanche," Bilawal added. Bilawal, at the event, also said his country was expecting India to abide by 'the old treaties and take back their decision vis-a-vis the IWT". 'And if our dialogue and diplomacy in pursuit of peace are to be successful, if we are to talk to India, have a positive dialogue with India, make new arrangements, new deals, perhaps even new treaties with India, then surely they first must abide by the old treaties and take back their decision vis-a-vis the IWT," the report quoted Bilawal as saying. The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, governs the distribution of water from the Indus River system between India and Pakistan. The treaty has withstood multiple wars and diplomatic crises, but recent tensions between the two countries have prompted fresh discussions on its future. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is leading a team of experts to inform the world about the recent conflict with India, was also called out by a journalist in New York over his comments on the alleged 'demonisation" of Muslims in India. During a question-and-answer session, Egyptian-American journalist Ahmad Fathi, UN correspondent of American Television News (ATN), asked Bilawal about his comments on India's treatment of Muslims and reminded him that it was an Indian Muslim military officer who was briefing the media during the conflict. 'Let me start with a statement you made today, saying that the recent terrorist attack in Kashmir is being used as a political tool to demonise Muslims in India. Sir, I have watched the briefings on both sides, and as far as I recall, there were Muslim Indian military officers who were conducting the briefing on the Indian side," Fathi said. He was about to ask his second question when Bilawal stopped him mid-sentence. The Pakistani leader then went on to criticise India and continued his usual rhetoric. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of May 7. Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian side strongly responded to the Pakistani attempts by inflicting heavy damage to a number of key Pakistani military installations, including air bases, air defence systems, command and control centres and radar sites. On May 10, the militaries of the two countries agreed on an understanding to end the hostilities. First Published: June 06, 2025, 10:11 IST
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Another big setback for Maoists: Top commander killed in Bastar forests; third senior leader eliminated this year
Another big setback for Maoists: Top commander killed in Bastar forests, third senior leader eliminated this year RAIPUR/HYDERABAD: Barely a fortnight after gunning down CPI(Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju, security forces shot dead his long-time aide, central committee member Sudhakar alias Tentu Lakshmi Narasimha Chalam — the banned outfit's ideological chief — in a forest in Bastar's Bijapur district Thursday morning. Born into a middle class family in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru district, Sudhakar, 67, carried a collective bounty of Rs 85 lakh in Chhattisgarh, Telangana and AP. He is the third central committee member to be killed in Bastar this year after Jai Ram alias Chalpathy and Basavaraju. He was the insurgents' ideological tutor, technical strategist, and political educator rolled into one, running the Maoist network in the three states. Three days ago, TOI had reported that security forces in Bastar have precise information on the locations of nine top Maoist commanders in Bastar division, and an operation to eliminate them is imminent unless they surrender. On Wednesday, police got intel inputs about the location of some Maoist top guns in Indravati National Park. "It was very specific information on the presence of Sudhakar, Telangana state committee member Bandi Prakash, Dandakaranya special zonal committee member Papa Rao, and a few other armed cadres," Bastar Range IG P Sundarraj said. Troops from DRG, STF and CoBRA set out on foot to intercept them, traversing treacherous terrain in the dark, and caught sight of the Maoists early Thursday morning. The gunfight broke out with the rising sun. After a while, police found a body which was later confirmed to be Sudhakar's. He was clad in a blue shirt and an AK-47 had fallen from his lifeless hands. "As in charge of the Maoist ideological training school RePOS (Revolutionary Political School), Sudhakar was involved in misleading and radicalising youth with violent and anti-national ideologies," Sundarraj said. Sudhakar studied at CR Reddy College in Eluru and briefly enrolled for a course in Ayurveda in Vijayawada before abandoning academics. Drawn by radical leftist ideology, he joined People's War Group in 1986, beginning a journey that would last nearly four decades in the Maoist underground. He became a public face during the 2004 peace talks between then AP govt and Maoists. Alongside senior leaders like Ramakrishna and Ganesh, he emerged from the forests to address a public gathering at Guttikonda Bilam in Palnadu. The negotiations, held in Hyderabad from Oct 15 to 18, 2004, focused on ceasefire, land rights, and prisoners' release. However, with talks collapsing soon after, Sudhakar slipped back into the underground, this time into the heart of central India's dense forests. Sudhakar played a key role in the outfit's technical wing, handling communications and equipment logistics vital to guerrilla warfare. Fluent in Telugu, Hindi, and Gondi, he combined political instruction with technical sophistication, a rare dual capability within the movement. His wife, Kakarala Guru Smruthi alias Uma, is also an active Maoist and a state committee member in Dandakaranya zone. Police is hopeful of "more success" in Indravati National Park. Security agencies said nine of the remaining 15 top Maoist leaders, collectively carrying bounties worth Rs 8.4 crore, are hiding in Bastar. "Sudhakar's death is a major success for security forces and is a significant blow to the weakening Maoist leadership, particularly in Dandakaranya region," Sundarraj said. "It's a serious setback for the Maoist movement, particularly in the political education and technical domains," a senior anti-Naxal intel official from AP told TOI. "It creates a vacuum in the leadership structure of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee. "
