Pakistan faces major thirst after India stops flow of Chenab River
Islamabad, May 6 (UNI) After India stopped the flow of the Chenab River into Pakistan, the river level has reduced manifold leaving Islamabad parched. Pakistan has accused India of engaging in a "water war" in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 tourists were killed.
On Monday, India stopped flow of the Chenab River into Pakistan through Jammu's Baglihar and Salal hydroelectric dams without notifying Islamabad, leaving the already water-starved country panic-stricken.
According to Pakistani officials, water flows in the Chenab, recorded at the Marala headworks, in Sialkot in Pakistan's Punjab, decreased from 35,000 cusecs on Sunday to about 3,100 cusecs on Monday morning, showing a more than 11-fold reduction, reported Dawn.
'They have almost blocked the River Chenab flows to downstream (Pakistan) after they (Indian authorities) took the decision on Sunday,' a senior official of the Punjab irrigation department confirmed on Monday.
'Currently, they are using our water to fill up their dams/hydropower projects in the Chenab basin. They cannot do this since it is a grave violation of the Indus Waters Treaty…,' the official deplored.
Pakistan is worried of any potential future discharges by India's three hydroelectric dams at the Chenab Basin, which include the Baglihar, Salal, and the Pakal Dam, as they could cause sudden floods and put the local population at risk.
'From Salal Dam, Marala Barrage (in Pakistan) is situated 76km away. The reason behind the massive reduction in the flows is the filling of these dams, which have a total storage capacity of over 1.2 million acre-feet. And if they keep filling their dams and avert discharging, they (India) may leave us without water for four to five days more,' the official warned.
The water official noted that Marala's capacity was 1.1 million cusecs, whereas the total storage capacity of India's dams in the Chenab basin was over 1.3 million acre-feet. 'However, they don't have control over the water inflows to Pakistan in the river from the Jammu-Tawi and Munawar-Tavi distributaries,' the official added.
A sudden stop of the Chenab waters could prove disastrous for Pakistan, as its irrigation system is majorly dependent on the Chenab River for agriculture in its Punjab region.
According to the daily water report issued by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), the water inflows in Chenab at Marala were recorded at 5,300 cusecs, whereas there were zero outflows on Monday.
A meeting by the advisory committee of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) also expressed concerns over New Delhi's sudden stop to the Chenab waters. The authority said that this move would cause additional shortages to Kharif crops, already facing an estimated 21pc shortfall.
'…sudden decrease in river Chenab inflows at Marala due to short supply by India would result in more shortages in early Kharif season,' said a statement issued by IRSA.
The water regulator declared an overall shortage of 21pc for the remaining early Kharif season in case supplies in River Chenab remained normal. However, the situation would be monitored on a daily basis and if the decrease continues, the shortages would be revisited accordingly, IRSA said, adding the late Kharif shortages were expected to be 7pc.
In the meantime, India has begun work to boost its reservoir holding capacity at two hydroelectric projects.
A 'reservoir flushing' process to remove sediment began on Thursday in Jammu & Kashmir. The process initially results in sediment-laden waters being released downstream from the reservoirs, potentially causing sudden inundation, followed by a reduced flow of water as the reservoirs are refilled.
While the process poses no immediate threat to Pakistan, such work by additional Indian dams could majorly disrupt its hydroelectricity and irrigation in the future.
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