• Source:JND
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Indus Waters Treaty: The coming summer is set to be harsher for Pakistan as it may face the worst water scarcity in the Indus river region. Jammu and Kashmir Minister Javed Ahmed Rana has said India is planning to halt the flow of surplus water from the Ravi to Pakistan, reported NDTV.

India had decided to suspend the decades-old treaty in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam in April, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people, mostly tourists. India informed Pakistan of its decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, citing Pakistan's breach of the treaty's conditions. The water of the western rivers -- the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab -- amounting to an average annual flow of around 135 MAF, which was largely allocated to Pakistan, has now been stopped and is available to be used by India.

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Rana said the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty helped in accelerating work on the Shahpur Kandi dam. The key dam project on the Punjab-Jammu and Kashmir border is near completion, he added.

Why Is Shahpur Kandi Dam Significant?

The Shahpur Kandi dam project is very crucial as once it gets operational, India would be able to block the flow of excess water from the Ravi River into Pakistan. Currently, the Ravi's surplus waters flow into Pakistan, but the dam will redirect this water to India's Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

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Water From Indus To Be Supplied To Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan: Centre

Earlier in September, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar claimed that the water saved due to the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan will be made available to Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan within the next one to one and a half years. "The large quantity of water that was discharged towards Pakistan will now be brought and supplied to Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan in the coming one or one and a half years," the minister said.

What Is Indus Waters Treaty?

The Indus Waters Treaty, in effect since 1960, governed the distribution and use of the Indus River and its tributaries between India and Pakistan. The Indus river system includes the main river, the Indus, along with its tributaries: the Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Jhelum, and Chenab. Under the treaty, India was granted exclusive rights to the water of the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi -- amounting to an average annual flow of about 33 million acre-feet (MAF).

(With PTI inputs)


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