Following India’s suspension of the Indus Treaty and the closing of the gates of the Baglihar and Salal dams, Pakistan has observed a notable drop in the Chenab River’s watershed.
At the Marala headworks, the water flows in the Chenab dropped from as high as 35,000 cusecs on Sunday to roughly 3,100 cusecs on Monday morning, according to Pakistani news outlet Dawn News.
Separately, the Indus River System Authority’s advisory council met in Islamabad on Monday and voiced concerns about the Indian government’s unilateral action, which could result in more shortages for Kharif crops, which are already expected to be short by 21%.
For the remainder of the early Kharif season, the water regulator announced a 21 percent total deficiency in case River Chenab supplies remained regular. Nonetheless, Dawn News stated that the issue would be tracked daily and that the shortages will be reviewed appropriately if the decline persisted.
“They have almost blocked the River Chenab flows to downstream (Pakistan) after they (Indian authorities) took the decision on Sunday,” a senior official of Pakistan’s Punjab irrigation department confirmed on Monday to Dawn.
Pakistan relies heavily on these river systems to provide irrigation for most of its crops and overall agriculture.
The most recent images from Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district showed that all of the gates of the Salal Dam on the Chenab River were closed. Additionally, all gates of the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project Dam on the Chenab River were depicted as closed in Ramban’s visuals.
After the terror assault in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people—mostly tourists—the Indian government reacted against Pakistan in a number of ways. In addition to pledging to make sure that the masterminds and perpetrators of the Pahalgam incident get harsh punishment, the government has reiterated its commitment to prosecuting terrorism effectively.
The 1960 Indus Water Treaty between the two nations is one of the actions. The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi’s Defence, Military, Naval, and Air Advisors were instructed to leave India within a week after being deemed persona non grata.
The people in the area are quite supportive of the move. They have denounced Pakistan’s activities, reiterated their support for India’s recent moves, and warned that further provocation could result in war.
This report has been written with inputs from ANI.
