India boosting hydro projects capacity to block Pak supplies

NEW DELHI: In the wake of rising tensions with Pakistan, India has started work on boosting the reservoir capacity at two hydroelectric projects in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).

Last month, New Delhi suspended the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), blaming Pakistan for the yet-to-be substantiated attack in IIOJ&K, killing 26 tourists, reports the international media. Islamabad has threatened international legal action over the treaty suspension and denied any role in the attack, warning, “Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan ... will be considered as an act of war”.

India’s state-run NHPC Ltd started the “reservoir flushing” process on Thursday to remove sediment. The work may not immediately threaten supply to Pakistan, which depends on rivers flowing through India for much of its irrigation and hydropower, but it could eventually be affected if other projects launch similar efforts.

There are more than half a dozen such projects in the region. India did not inform Pakistan about the work at the Salal and Baglihar projects, which is being done for the first time since they were built in 1987 and 2008/09, respectively, as the treaty had blocked such work. People living on the banks of Chenab River in IIOJ&K said they had noticed water released from both Salal and Baglihar dams from Thursday to Saturday.