Latest news with #KushvinderVohra
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Freeze On Indus Waters Treaty Not Illegal: Top Official Rubbishes Pak Claim
NEW DELHI: India has rejected Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's allegation that India's decision to put Indus Water Treaty in abeyance is "illegal". Talking exclusively to NDTV, Jalshakti Ministry's Adviser on Indus Water Treaty and former Commissioner (Indus) Kushvinder Vohra said India's decision to put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance is "legally valid as per the prevailing International Laws". "The Vienna Convention on International Treaties is not strictly applicable on the Indus Water Treaty as it became effective only in 1980 and the Treaties made before 1980 does not come under its ambit. IWT was signed in 1960," he said. Nevertheless, even as per convention, when fundamental circumstances change, Indus Water Treaty can be suspended or abrogated as may be the situation, Mr Vohra explained. "India has used its rights to put the treaty in abeyance since Pakistan has consistently acted against the spirit of goodwill and friendship which was the cornerstone of Indus Water Treaty," he said. Under these circumstances, even if Pakistan goes to international forums to challenge India's decision, its case will not stand because there are fundamental changes in circumstances, especially in terms of Islamabad acting against the spirit of goodwill and friendship, technological changes, climate change effects among others, he added. At the International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation, On Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said at an international conference that his country would not allow India to cross the red line by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and endangering millions of lives for narrow political gains. India had hit back, condemning Pakistan's action. At a UN conference on glaciers in Tajikistan's Dushanbe, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh said Pakistan was violating the treaty through terrorism. "Pakistan, which itself is in violation of the treaty, should desist from putting the blame of the breach of the treaty on India," he said. The treaty's preamble says it was concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship, and honouring the treaty in good faith is essential, he had added. The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan with the World Bank as a signatory, governs the sharing of the Indus River system's waters between the two countries. India put a freeze on it after the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 in which 26 people died.
CNA
06-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Pakistan accuses India of altering Chenab River flow as tensions rise
LAHORE: Pakistan on Tuesday (May 6) accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan's control according to the now-suspended Indus Waters Treaty. This major river originates in India but was allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, signed by the two nuclear powers. India suspended the treaty following a on Apr 22 that killed 26 people. Islamabad warned that tampering with its rivers would be considered "an act of war". "We have witnessed changes in the river (Chenab) which are not natural at all," Kazim Pirzada, irrigation minister for Punjab province, told AFP. Punjab, bordering India and home to nearly half of Pakistan's 240 million citizens, is the country's agricultural heartland, and "the majority impact will be felt in areas which have fewer alternate water routes," Pirzada warned. "One day the river had normal inflow and the next day it was greatly reduced," Pirzada added. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, large quantities of water from India were reportedly released on Apr 26, according to the Jinnah Institute, a think tank led by a former Pakistani climate change minister. "This is being done so that we don't get to utilise the water," Pirzada added. The gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam in Indian-administered Kashmir, which lies upstream of Pakistani Punjab, "have been lowered to restrict water flow ... as a short-term punitive action," a senior Indian official has told The Indian Express. The Indus Waters Treaty permits India to use shared rivers for dams or irrigation but prohibits diverting watercourses or altering downstream volumes. Indian authorities have not commented yet, but Kushvinder Vohra, former head of India's Central Water Commission, told The Times of India: "Since the treaty is on pause ... we may do flushing on any project without any obligation". Experts said the water cannot be stopped in the long term, and that India can only regulate the timings of when it releases flows.
Al Arabiya
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Pakistan accuses India of altering Chenab River flow as tensions rise
Pakistan on Tuesday accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan's control according to the now suspended Indus Waters Treaty. This major river originates in India but was allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, signed by the two nuclear powers. India suspended the treaty following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 people. Islamabad warned that tampering with its rivers would be considered 'an act of war'. 'We have witnessed changes in the river (Chenab) which are not natural at all,' Kazim Pirzada, irrigation minister for Punjab province, told AFP. Punjab, bordering India and home to nearly half of Pakistan's 240 million citizens, is the country's agricultural heartland, and 'the majority impact will be felt in areas which have fewer alternate water routes,' Pirzada warned. 'One day the river had normal inflow and the next day it was greatly reduced,' Pirzada added. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, large quantities of water from India were reportedly released on April 26, according to the Jinnah Institute, a think tank led by a former Pakistani climate change minister. 'This is being done so that we don't get to utilise the water,' Pirzada added. The gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam in Indian-administered Kashmir which lies upstream of Pakistani Punjab 'have been lowered to restrict water flow ... as a short-term punitive action', a senior Indian official has told The Indian Express. The Indus Waters Treaty permits India to use shared rivers for dams or irrigation but prohibits diverting watercourses or altering downstream volumes. Indian authorities have not commented yet but Kushvinder Vohra, former head of India's Central Water Commission, told The Times of India: 'Since the treaty is on pause... we may do flushing on any project without any obligation'. Experts said the water cannot be stopped in the longer term, and that India can only regulate timings of when it releases flows. However, the Jinnah Institute warned: 'Even small changes in the timing of water releases can disrupt sowing calendars (and) reduce crop yields'.
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First Post
06-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
The Chenab choke: India readies dams with desilting, flushing to store more water
While desilting involves dredging to remove accumulated sand, flushing is a process that uses strong water flow to clear sediments from the reservoir read more The Baglihar Dam in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban after India cut the flow of water through the dam on the Chenab river following suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. PTI India is taking urgent action to prepare the reservoirs of two run-of-the-river hydropower plants on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir—Baglihar and Salal—for the storage and control of water flow to Pakistan during the winter months. This includes limited flushing and desilting of the reservoirs. In the coming days, other dams will undergo the same procedure to improve storage within India. The action is part of the country's comprehensive plan to control and halt the flow of the western rivers—the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—to the neighbouring nation, following the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) after last month's terror incident in Pahalgam. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While desilting involves dredging to remove accumulated sand, flushing is a process that uses strong water flow to clear sediments from the reservoir. '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,' former Central Water Commission chairman Kushvinder Vohra told TOI. According to him, the flushing process may be completed within one to two days for typical projects with smaller live poundages, such as Baglihar and Kishanganga. The roadmap's short-term actions include desilting and flushing reservoirs, while medium-term measures focus on accelerating hydropower projects under development, such as Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kiru (624 MW), and Kwar (540 MW). Vohra noted that another short-term measure would be to reduce the flow of nine cubic metres of water from Kishanganga—as required by the previous award—and use it to generate more electricity for India. As part of long-term plans, four additional power plants are proposed, which will allow India to utilise more water from the western rivers through associated reservoirs. These projects will not only increase India's hydropower capacity in Jammu & Kashmir from around 4,000 MW to over 10,000 MW but will also enhance the volume of water that can be stored for use in the Union Territory and its neighbouring states. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The roadmap also includes restarting the previously stalled Tulbul project on the Jhelum, improvements to Wuller Lake and the Jhelum to bolster flood control, lift projects to enable faster water usage, and optimised use of the Ranbir and Pratap canals to ensure more water for the Jammu region. 'Many other things can also be done which may unfold at an appropriate time,' Vohra added.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
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.
