China possibly ‘obstructing Sutlej flow into India’: Indian expert

ISLAMABAD: Amid ongoing Pakistan-India tensions, concerns have emerged in India over the water it receives from China, as Indian expert Dr. V. Nityananda suggested that Beijing may be discreetly obstructing the flow of Sutlej River into Indian territory.

In the wake of the Pahalgam incident – blatantly contravening international norms and laws -- India last month announced the suspension of Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and threatened to halt the flow of water into Pakistan. The IWT governs the distribution of rivers between Pakistan and India.

According to a report by Indian journal Business Today, Dr. V. Nityananda, a geospatial researcher and former NASA station manager, conducted research using satellite data on the flow of Sutlej River. The data reportedly indicates a significant decline in the Sutlej River’s water volume within India. This decrease in flow is occurring before the river enters Indian territory from Tibet.

In a statement, Dr. V. Nityananda claimed that in the past years, the volume of water flowing into India from the Sutlej River has dropped by over 75 percent. “The amount of water coming to India through the Sutlej has dipped from 8,000 gigalitres to just 2,000 gigalitres.”

He questioned whether China is deliberately controlling the flow of water into India. There are reportedly two major reasons behind this massive decline in Sutlej’s flow into India – China may have altered the river’s course, or the decrease could be due to natural causes.

However, it stated, the second possibility appears less likely, as climate data indicates that glaciers in the Himalayas are melting rapidly. In such a case, the river’s flow should be increasing, not decreasing.

In the Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) Gorge in Tibet, China has constructed dams and hydroelectric infrastructure. The dams have enhanced China’s technical capacity and enabled its control of the flow of water that reaches India.

China and India do not have any formal water-sharing agreement. The data-sharing agreement between the two countries expired in 2023. As a result, China is not obligated to provide India with information regarding the flow of water in the Sutlej River. There is no public evidence to suggest that China is deliberately reducing the water flow. “However, due to China’s increased control and the absence of agreements, India’s concerns have grown.”

Another independent expert has indicated that India has failed in studying and taking benefit from the satellite imagery for reading the flow of water and changes in Sutlej River.