Indus Water Treaty

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 29 Jan 2010 23:55

Militants try to cash in on Pakistani farmers’ water woes

The decrease in irrigation water to the Roohi desert region – a place that since 1988 has been a recruiting ground for militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir – was first noticed by residents five years ago.

That's a new one on me. Quite the confession.

The filling of the Baglihar dam, a process that would take several years, has substantially reduced water flows into Pakistan, the government has said. “India wants to destroy Pakistan by cutting off our water. Now it wants to build another dam on the Jhelum river [another Indus tributary] to turn Pakistan into a desert and starve us all to death,” said Mr Din, who is better know as “Afghani” because he fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

The land of a million laughs never fails..

Under the accord, Pakistan had first right of dam construction on the Chenab, but failed to act within a stipulated time because of political indecision and a lack of funding.

What...

However, farmers in the Roohi region, also known as the Cholistan Desert, dismissed the contention that the water shortages are a consequence of the Baglihar dam.

“The shortages started before India built the dam, shortly after the last local government elections [in 2005]. After big landlords won and gained control, they started stealing water to fill reservoirs on their farms,” said Mr Sindhu, from Chak 205.

Some signs of sanity finally.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 02 Feb 2010 19:35

Filling of Mangla, hydropower projects in jeopardy
By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD: The filling of Mangla Dam’s additional 2.33 MAF (million acre feet) storage capacity built at a cost of more than Rs90 billion and construction of cheap hydropower projects of about 4,500MW are in jeopardy because of non-implementation of the dam’s up-raising agreement and three provinces’ opposition to allocation of water for Azad Kashmir.

Bheem · Post by **Bheem** » 02 Feb 2010 20:45

Re SS, there was (in) famous controversy about SYL canal between Punjab and Haryana which was also meant to prevent flow of excess water into Pakistan. Can you explain the issue?

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 03 Feb 2010 11:03

shaardula wrote:Filling of Mangla, hydropower projects in jeopardy

Link appears to be incorrect.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Feb 2010 11:15

Bheem wrote:Re SS, there was (in) famous controversy about SYL canal between Punjab and Haryana which was also meant to prevent flow of excess water into Pakistan. Can you explain the issue?

That is a long story. Will explain briefly here because it is OT here. Give me some time.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Feb 2010 13:51

India resumes Kishenganga work

ndia has resumed work on the controversial Kishanganga hydropower project and has taken up four other mega projects of about 3,900MW on the Chenab and Jhelum rivers in occupied Kashmir that can result in major water shortages in Pakistan.

According to a progress report prepared by the Indian government and the administration of occupied Kashmir after a Jan 10 meeting, seven major water and electricity projects are being executed in the occupied state, besides nine road and infrastructure projects.

According to sources in Islamabad, Pakistan has not been informed about some of the major projects although India is required under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty to inform it about a project six months before its launching.

The Indian government’s project update revealed that about 33 billion Indian rupees sanctioned for the 330MW Kishanganga project on Jhelum river in January last year had been increased to Rs37 billion. “Work has restarted after settlement of outstanding issues. The project is expected to be completed by January 2016.”

Indian government has handed over the security of the five projects to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) — a specialised division of the Indian armed forces that provides security cover to the country’s missions abroad and UN peacekeeping operations, besides private and cooperative establishments in the country. The CISF has more than 130,000 personnel to provide security in highly sensitive areas and regions.

Pakistan has been opposing the project for more than a decade because it could stop water flows into Jhelum river. Bilateral talks have so far failed to yield any result to Pakistan’s satisfaction.

But the most crucial and the biggest is the Sawalkot project with a capacity of 1,200MW. Another is the 1,000MW Pakul Dul project for which Rs51 billion has been allocated and the executing agencies are awaiting forest clearance of 311 hectares and security arrangements to start construction.

The 240MW Uri-II project on Jhelum river was allocated Rs18 billion, of which Rs8 billion has been spent with 51 per cent physical progress. The project is expected to be completed in February next year.

Work on the 1,020MW Busrar multi-purpose project on the Chenab has been stalled because of inadequate security.

Despite Pakistan’s objections, the Indian government has been successful in completing the Bagilhar Dam, having a 474m height and water pondage capacity of 37.5 million cubic metres, because the authorities in Islamabad reacted too late, when the project had reached an advanced stage.

Indian documents reveal that the Sawalkot Dam project on the Chenab in occupied Kashmir has 646-foot height, which is more than the 485-foot height of Tarbela and 453-foot of Mangla. The project is also higher than the Bagilhar Dam and has 13 times more water capacity.

Work on the $2 billion dam is in full swing and is monitored by the Indian home ministry, because of the law and order situation in occupied Kashmir.

Bheem · Post by **Bheem** » 03 Feb 2010 22:05

SSridhar wrote:
Bheem wrote:Re SS, there was (in) famous controversy about SYL canal between Punjab and Haryana which was also meant to prevent flow of excess water into Pakistan. Can you explain the issue?
That is a long story. Will explain briefly here because it is OT here. Give me some time.

SSridhar wrote:One more thing that I forgot to mention was that in March 2008, GoI sanctioned funds for a second Ravi-Beas link to divert from Ravi into Beas any excess water that the existing Ravi-Beas Link I (the Madhopur-Beas Link Canal) cannot handle.

Re SS my primary interest about SYL was whether it was meant to stop water going to Pakistan? Also if as per you hardly any water is going to pak then your link shows that "hardly" may be substancial and needs to be curbed (?).

So again the repeat how much water is "still" going to Pakistan from India's share which we need to retain and use? Whether even flood waters can be used/put in storage in India or diverted to Rajasthan etc by links/canals?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 03 Feb 2010 23:00

Bheem,
Punjab itself has shortage of water and its requirement to be taken in consideration before allocating water to Rajasthan etc.

kittoo · Post by **kittoo** » 04 Feb 2010 00:14

Slightly OT, but I love the name KishenGanga.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 04 Feb 2010 16:19

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the khujli continues

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... -420-zj-08

India’s water theft
Dawn Editorial
Thursday, 04 Feb, 2 010

It seems that India is choking Pakistan in every way possible. There is no shortage of well-meaning, pro-peace commentators in this country who somehow find hope in the face of brazen provocation. But even they must accept that New Delhi can be most intransigent when it comes to issues that Pakistan rightly sees as a matter of life and death.

True, Pakistan did itself no favours. It nurtured militants who operated on both the western and eastern borders and ultimately turned their guns on the country itself once Islamabad renounced links that only the most ill-informed could ignore. But now India is usurping water supplies that rightfully belong to us under the terms of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, a move that could deal a body blow to an agrarian economy that is already under severe stress. What’s more, it could be said that India’s decision to go ahead with the Kishanganga hydropower project and four other dams in Indian-administered Kashmir are geared not so much towards meeting its own needs as impoverishing Pakistan.

Under the World Bank-sponsored Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan enjoys exclusive rights to the volumes generated by the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers. Clearly, India is not abiding by the rules — probably because it sees itself as a power that is somehow above regulations. This attitude has harmed its credentials not only in Pakistan but other Saarc countries as well. In fact, India is seen as a regional bully throughout Saarc. Under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty, India is required by law to inform Pakistan six months in advance if work is to commence on diverting or stalling waters covered under the 1960 agreement. That did not happen and it is up to the comity of nations to ensure that India’s transgression is stopped dead in its tracks.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 04 Feb 2010 17:35

sridhar,
i know i must be reading this thread from page 1. but if possible could you kindly respond to that edit by dawn.

thanks.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Feb 2010 20:43

shaardula wrote:i know i must be reading this thread from page 1. but if possible could you kindly respond to that edit by dawn.

Shaardula, that DAWN edit is not substantive. It only makes general accusations like India is not abiding by IWT, it is stealing waters, it is a regional bully etc. The simple answer is that these very same accusations were made when the Baglihar Hydro Electric Project (BHEP) was under construction and these have been comprehensively answered by the verdict of the Neutral Expert ! The Expert even advised India to do more of the same in certain issues like the low-level sluice gates etc !!

While Pakistani newspapers were awash with how India could not build BHEP at all, Pakistan did not even raise that with the Neutral Expert because that would have been simply ridiculous. All that Pakistan raised were a few technical issues, not the rights of India to build BHEP. That is the real operating mode of Pakistan. They want to simply whip up an anti-India paranoia among its masses by lying to them in order to perpetuate an enduring hostility with us, and to paint India as a villain to the whole world especially among the useless OIC members.

Anyway, like BHEP, India can (and will) build run-of-river hydro electric projects on the 'Western Rivers' allocated to Pakistan. The term 'exclusive rights' is misused by DAWN to mislead Pakistanis. It does not want to say what rights India enjoys on these Western rivers, as per IWT.

What does DAWN mean when it says 'geared not so much towards meeting its own needs as impoverishing Pakistan'. How can run-of-river projects 'impoverish' Pakistan ? Why should a chronically energy-deficient India not exploit its resources ? Besides, what will India do with generated units of power if not use them ? Pakistan is attributing to India its own characteristics perhaps, which is to lose both its eyes if it can half-blind the enemy at least in one eye.

I am pretty sure that the 'six month' accusation would be patently false. For the last one year Pakistan has been shrill that India illegally filled up the BHEP pondage. In the last Permanent Indus Commissioners' meeting, India has provided data to rubbish the ridiculous Pakistani claims. If Pakistan is dissatisfied with Indian explanation, it has a recourse to take the matters to a Neutral Expert once again.

Arun_J · Post by **Arun_J** » 04 Feb 2010 22:40

Kayani spells out threat posed by Indian doctrine

While the Pakistan Army is alert to and fighting the threat posed by militancy, it remains an “India-centric” institution and that reality will not change in any significant way until the Kashmir issue and water disputes are resolved, according to army chief Gen Kayani.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... 420--bi-08

Khujli is spreading like wild fire. Not that it matters, but is Kiyanahi saying that Water is as high on his agenda as Kashmir?

negi · Post by **negi** » 05 Feb 2010 00:54

^ Whats so surprising didn't we hear Siddharath Vardarajan (Hindu) talking about using WATER as a carrot to talk with TSP (CNN IBN show) . I am pretty sure the idiotic clauses in S.e.S drafting fiasco too were as a result of such Lahori school of thought after all these days babooze seem to be watching and appearing in too many TVee shows.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 05 Feb 2010 21:58

thanks a lot sridhar that helps. so its a run-of-the-river project.

Wiki on run-of the river. arthaat river ka run

Run-of-River projects are dramatically different in design, appearance and impact from conventional hydroelectric projects. Power stations on rivers with great seasonal fluctuations require a large reservoir in order to operate during the dry season, resulting in the necessity to impound and flood large tracts of land.

In contrast, run of river projects do not require a large impoundment of water.[1] Instead, some of the water is diverted from a river, and sent into a pipe called a penstock. The penstock feeds the water downhill to the power station's turbines. Because of the difference in relief, potential energy from the water up river is transformed into kinetic energy while it flows downriver through the penstock, giving it the speed required to spin the turbines that in turn transform this kinetic energy into electrical energy. Additionally, there is no alteration of downstream flows, since all diverted water is returned to the stream below the powerhouse.

Most run-of-river power plants consist of a dam across the full width of the river to utilize all the river's water for electricity generation. Such installations have a reservoir behind the dam but since flooding is minimal, they can be considered "run-of-river".[citation needed]
[edit]
Advantages
Flooding the upper part of the river is not required as it doesn't need a large reservoir. As a result, people living at or near the river don't need to be relocated and natural habitats are preserved, reducing the environmental impact as compared to reservoirs.[citation needed]

Disadvantages
The output of the power plant is highly dependent on natural run-off. Spring melts will create a lot of energy while dry seasons will create relatively little energy. While there is no flooding, there is still negative environmental impact through clearing for power lines, roads, and a water diversion which may affect fish stocks. A run-of-the-river power plant has little or no capacity for energy storage[citation needed] and hence can't co-ordinate the output of electricity generation to match consumer demand.

BijuShet · Post by **BijuShet** » 06 Feb 2010 02:21

Posting in full from "The News". It will be interesting to see if the Ministry of Water & Irrigation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will commit perjury when replying to the CJ of Lahore High Court about India's alleged water theft.
LHC seeks reply in plea against Indian water theft

Friday, February 05, 2010 - By our correspondent

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday ordered the Ministry of Water & Irrigation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to file replies on a petition filed against the government’s inaction against the Indian attempts to make Pakistan a barren country by stopping rivers’ waters.

Chief Justice Khawaja Sharif passed this order on the petition of Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) through its President Sardar Zafar Hussain Khan. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the country was facing an acute shortage of water in its rivers, which was directly damaging crops, farmers and the economy of the country.

He said India had planned to suffocate Pakistan with the hidden support of some eternal enemies of Pakistan but the Pakistani authorities were only providing lip-service against this cruelty. The counsel submitted that no practical step at bilateral or global level had yet been taken by the Pakistani government in this regard.

The petitioner requested to the court to direct the Pakistani government to take bold steps to prevent and secure water of three rivers (Indus, Chenab and Jhelum) that had been already given to Pakistan by virtue of the Indus Basin Water Treaty in 1960. He said if steps were not taken immediately, Pakistan would become a totally barren nation. After hearing the preliminary arguments, the CJ sought reports and para-wise comments from the respondent ministries till March 4.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 06 Feb 2010 02:44

Arun_J wrote:
Khujli is spreading like wild fire. Not that it matters, but is Kiyanahi saying that Water is as high on his agenda as Kashmir?

They also have food grains, roads and power in their agenda. These are being stolen by a neighboring country
Then other things like civil governance, municipality, security etc can be added to agenda.
Finally it becomes a center state agenda for talks and finding solutions.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Feb 2010 06:33

BijuShet wrote:Posting in full from "The News". It will be interesting to see if the Ministry of Water & Irrigation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will commit perjury when replying to the CJ of Lahore High Court about India's alleged water theft.
LHC seeks reply in plea against Indian water theft
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the country was facing an acute shortage of water in its rivers, which was directly damaging crops, farmers and the economy of the country.

The Pakistani Indus Comissioner had this to say in June 2009 as reported by Daily Times.

Indus Waters Treaty Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah, while leaving for New Delhi to talk about waters shared by India and Pakistan, said that Pakistan was getting its share of waters under the Indus Treaty and that building a dam was the right of India. He said less water in Pakistani rivers was because of lack of rain, not because India had blocked it.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 06 Feb 2010 07:02

Acharya wrote:
Arun_J wrote:
Khujli is spreading like wild fire. Not that it matters, but is Kiyanahi saying that Water is as high on his agenda as Kashmir?
They also have food grains, roads and power in their agenda. These are being stolen by a neighboring country
Then other things like civil governance, municipality, security etc can be added to agenda.
Finally it becomes a center state agenda for talks and finding solutions.

If RAW can get its act together, then violence in Pakistan would be the central topic. Kashmir would not be in top 10.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 06 Feb 2010 08:35

India-Pakistan Foreign Secretary Level talks likely this month

As far as the scope of talks is concerned, even if no reference is made to ‘composite dialogue,’ Islamabad wants the full range of problem areas to be discussed, especially the water issue. The Pakistani side is especially concerned about dams and barrages being built by India, which could affect the flow of river water across the border.

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 06 Feb 2010 12:25

Indian Indus water commissioner due today in Lahore

LAHORE (February 06 2010): The Indian Indus Water Commissioner, G Aranganathan is arriving in Lahore along with his delegation on Saturday (today) on a five-day visit in connection with an annual meeting of Pakistan-India Permanent Indus Water (PIIW) to discuss matters relating to the flow of water in rivers, exchange of data and early flood warning systems.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Feb 2010 17:06

Pakistan to seek arbitration on Kishenganga

Indus Water Commissioner of Pakistan Jamaat Ali Shah said there would be no talks on Kishanganga or any other dam as it was not a part of the meeting’s agenda. Separately, Shah said Pakistan would soon forward a proposal to India about setting up of a court of arbitration and for the appointment of neutral experts over India’s Kishanganga hydropower project.

arun · Post by **arun** » 07 Feb 2010 17:25

^^^ Whatever is slowing down the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in calling for a neutral expert?

Going by the article in the Jang Groups “The News” posted on page 9 of this thread the Islamic Republic served notice of calling for a neutral expert on India way back in mid March 2009.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Feb 2010 17:55

arun wrote:^^^ Whatever is slowing down the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in calling for a neutral expert?

Going by the article in the Jang Groups “The News” posted on page 9 of this thread the Islamic Republic served notice of calling for a neutral expert on India way back in mid March 2009.

It should be their own government, I mean TSP itself. If the PIC (Permanent Indus Commissioner) of Pakistan serves a notice to his Indian counterpart that he was taking the 'difference' to a Neutral Expert and if the Indian counterpart does not respond to or does not respond satisfactorily within a couple of weeks, then the Pakistani PIC can approach the World Bank for the appointment of a Neutral Expert. The Indian PIC cannot stop that. Of course, he will have to go through his bureaucracy, Min of Finance, his Foreign Office etc. Obviously, the Pakistani government is still thinking perhaps !

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 07 Feb 2010 18:15

The status of the contentious Diamar-Bhasha dam in Balawaristan

Diamer-Bhasha dam is designed to possess tremendous capacity to produce much needed electricity and provide water; it will have 12 power generating units with a capacity of 375 MW in a year and expected to produce 19,000 GWH. It will be the highest roller-compacted dam in the world with a height of 272 M.

Its gross capacity will be 7.3 million acre feet (MAF). It is located about 120 km downstream of its confluence with the Gilgit River in the Diamer District of Gilgit-Baltistan. The cost of the project is estimated to be over $12 billion. The dam could significantly help overcome power shortage and meet the long standing need for a water reservoir for irrigation purpose. Federal minister for water and power Raja Pervez Ashraf said on January 4 that “work on Diamer-Bhasha dam will begin this year and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had given assurance of financing the project”.

However, Bhasha dam, which was later named Diamer-Bhasha Dam to appease the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, is not free from contentions. It seems that the political elite who have been exploiting Pakistan for more than six decades are again going to make a big mistake and the dam may not be materialised.

The reason is that the regime has for long been ignoring and undermining the rights of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan simply because they have shown strong resistance to the proposed dam for it will submerge long tracks of scarce agricultural land in Diamer District where food security has already become a major issue. Secondly, it will displace more than 80,000 people of Gilgit-Baltistan and their future status has not yet been decided. And, there is no agreement yet on compensation plans. Thirdly, the adverse implications of the dam on socio-environmental conditions of Gilgit-Baltisatn have already been acknowledged internationally. Fourthly, the construction work would draw large numbers of outsiders to Gilgit-Baltistan while under the ‘state subject rule’ outsiders are not allowed to settle in the disputed regions. Fifthly, the proposed site of the dam, according to the experts, is located in the sensitive seismic zone, and any earthquake of the scale that struck Azad Kashmir in 2005 would be disastrous for the entire region.

The fundamental issues are location of the dam and rights of royalty. Construction of the dam will inundate and displace the people only in the Gilgit-Baltistan, while the power turbines are said to be located in the NWFP in the region of Kohistan, Bhasha. However, the ownership and boundary demarcation is disputed and the people of Gilgit-Baltisatn historically have a claim over Bhasha but the government of Pakistan’s unilateral declaration of Bhasha being part of the NWFP is igniting anger.

In the eyes of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan it is a conspiracy to deprive them of the royalty of the Dam. While water available from the reservoir on the one hand will inundate thousands of acres of land in Gilgit-Baltistan, it will, on the other hand, not provide water for a single acre in the region and all water will go downstream in Pakistan. Although it is announced that the royalty will be shared but the NWFP government has already decided not to share the amount of royalty with Gilgit-Baltistan.

The dam is fiercely opposed by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and the decision of Economic Coordination Council of Pakistan and recent announcement by Raja Pervez Ashraf to build the Bhash Dam has come as a shock to them. They have long standing reservations over the issue for they have been condemned to six decades of deprivations and alienations by the successive governments in Pakistan. People of the GB have no say in the affairs relating to governance of the region and have, therefore, raised the issue at international forums.

The World Bank has already declined to provide much needed funds and another major investor, China, has also reportedly refused to fund this dam. If the World Bank, which represents the western powers, and China, one of the most potential investors in Pakistan, are unwilling to fund the construction of the dam, it would be hard to find any other multilateral organisation willing to provide assistance. It seems the project will suffer the same fate as did the Kalabagh Dam.

There is a growing opposition to the dam at international level. India’s opposition is understandable for according to the UN the area of Gilgit-Baltistan is a disputed region between Pakistan and India. {And, India hs already objected to this dam} But the federal minster for information and also Governor of the GB Mr Qamaruzzaman Kaira says that ‘not a single voice was raised by the people of the Northern Areas (Gilgit-Baltistan) against this project (Diamer-Bhasha Dam)’, in response to a question of an activist of Gilgit-Baltistan.

If the government and the political elite of the country are serious about the dam, they must first decide the fate of Bhasha which historically belongs to Gilgit-Baltistan. This is the major hurdle in the way of the construction of the dam. If Bhasha goes to Gilgit-Baltistan the construction would become easier because it will automatically resolve the second major issue of dispute over royalty. The royalty then will go to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan who would be uprooted because of the construction of the dam. Thirdly, government should chalk out a clear and transparent resettlement plan for the 80,000 displaced people, and compensation be arranged for the tracks of land which would be inundated.

If the political elite of Pakistan can appreciate concerns of the people, then the problems like these may not arise. What Pakistan needs is electricity and water. By solving the contentious issues of border demarcation, royalty, resettlement and compensation plan, regarding Diamer-Bhasha Dam and treating Gilgit-Baltistan with dignity which it deserves, Pakistan can overcome several problems.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 07 Feb 2010 18:38

SSridhar wrote:The status of the contentious Diamar-Bhasha dam in Balawaristan
The cost of the project is estimated to be over $12 billion.

OK, let me put on my banker hat: who put these numbers together? what is pukistan's capacity to re-pay the annual debt service on this "soft-loan"? Pukistan does not have the credit rating or ability to provide sovereign guarantees to exact the best terms. Is it hoping that the loans will be written off? With such types of world bank aided loans, there are usually strict conditions attached. Has the status of Gilgit-Baltistan been determined? Isnt it a contested real estate? The borrowing entity is required to put in place a bank approved and managed transparent process dealing with the displaced people, which includes land rights and transfer of those displaced people. The people of pok are still living in makeshift camps five years after the earthquake. My suggestion: Send in Teesta Setalvad.

Vivek_A · Post by **Vivek_A** » 07 Feb 2010 20:26

nutty nation..

India starts Swalkot dam on Chenab

ISLAMABAD – India has started construction of Swalkot dam at the cost of $2 billion on the Chenab river.
According to an investigation report by Nawa-i-Waqt, Swalkot dam is 646-ft high, which is 161-ft higher than Tarbela (485-ft) and 193-ft higher than Mangla (453-ft) dams.
Swalkot dam’s reservoir has 13 times more water capacity than that of Baglihar. The Indian home ministry is looking after the construction of this dam. An exclusive road is also being constructed up to the dam. Swalkot dam would generate 1,200 Megawatts electricity whereas the Baglihar dam has the capacity of 450 Megawatts.
Swalkot dam is being constructed in Doda and Udhampur districts at a distance of only 70-km from the Pakistan boundary. A Norwegian firm has prepared the design of this dam. As many as 600 families would be affected due to construction of the Swalkot dam. A total number of 25,000 people would get homeless due to the construction of the dam.
Besides, the Chenab river will get completely dried after the construction of the dam. Experts say if Pakistan did not try to stop the construction of the dam, its economy especially the agriculture will be completely destroyed.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 10 Feb 2010 17:42

Indo-Pak war over water unlikely

Indus Water Commissioner of India Auranga Nathan said there is no possibility of war between India and Pakistan on water issue, as both the country believed in resolving water-related issues in accordance with Indus Water Treaty.

Talking to media at Lahore airport on his return after 5-day Pakistan tour, he said both countries respect the Indus Water Treaty entered with the help of World Bank.

He said that all the issues between Pakistan and India would be resolved with the negotiations between Pakistan and India.

Indus Water Commissioner of Pakistan Jamaat Ali Shah said while talking to media that we have conveyed our reservations on the water issue to the Indian delegation, adding Pakistan went on time to the world court on reservations over Baglihar Dam and three out of our four points were accepted by India.

He added the charge regarding losing the case to India is baseless.

Auranga said Ravi and Sutlej rivers were inspected during the visit and efforts would be made to remove the reservations of Pakistan, adding if the two countries do not agree on the Treaty, they have option to go to International Court of Justice as well.

Pakistani Water Commissioner cannot give the date for India tour for the moment and this would be decided later.

A three-member Indian delegation of the Indus Water Commission arrived in Lahore on Saturday, February 6, 2010 for a five-day tour of Pakistan.

Indus Water Commissioner of India Auranga Nathan said at the time of his arrival that he would undertake a routine inspection of rivers Ravi and Sutlej during his visit to Pakistan.

Indus Water Commissioner of Pakistan Jamaat Ali Shah said at the time of arrival of Indian delegation that there would be no talks on Kishanganga or any other dam as it was not a part of the meeting’s agenda. Separately, Shah said Pakistan would soon forward a proposal to India about setting up of a court of arbitration and for the appointment of neutral experts over India’s Kishanganga hydropower project.

negi · Post by **negi** » 10 Feb 2010 20:40

Let see how the so called proposed dialogue goes I am pretty sure TSP is gonna make a hell lot of noise on WATER before the coming summer .

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 10 Feb 2010 20:54

negi wrote:Let see how the so called proposed dialogue goes I am pretty sure TSP is gonna make a hell lot of noise on WATER before the coming summer .

The false veil of kashmir is slowly lifting from the ugly face of our jehadi neighbor and the true purpose of the paki antics for the past 60 odd years is coming to the fore.

The increasing clamor for water from our parched friends is rising to a crescendo.

WATER is exactly why they wanted to grab kashmir and now even the common unwashed kashmiri abdul will know how important the "aspirations of the kashmiris" truly are.

Prasad · Post by **Prasad** » 10 Feb 2010 22:51

SSridhar wrote:Indo-Pak war over water unlikely
Indus Water Commissioner of India Auranga Nathan said there is no possibility of war between India and Pakistan on water issue, as both the country believed in resolving water-related issues in accordance with Indus Water Treaty.
appointment of neutral experts over India’s Kishanganga hydropower project.

Pakis just can't stop thinking outside the ummah box. WTF is Auranga Nathan? He is Aranganathan which iirc is tamizh for Ranganath.

arun · Post by **arun** » 12 Feb 2010 10:06

The dominant Punjabis of Pakistan having been thwarted in their attempt to deprive the minority Sindhi’s and Balochi’s of their legitimate share of water leave in a huff:

Punjab walks out of Irsa meeting

My own take is that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s shrill screeching about India depriving them of water is a ploy to divert attention of the Sindhi’s and Balochi’s from the water theft of Pakistan’s Punjabi’s.

Meanwhile more screeching from the Nation which hardly surprisingly is headquartered in Pakistan’s Punjab province besides being Pakistani Punjabi owned:

Indian water aggression: Pakistan on brink of disaster

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 13 Feb 2010 14:30

And our man Aranganathan is an SDRE among SDREs, I kid you not.

His finely coiffured and tailored counterpart Jamal Malik is head and shoulders above him, literally. Aranganathan just reaches the shoulder height of Jamal's suit. And Aranganathan looks like one of those pudgy professors, eyes vaguely gazing into the distance even at a press conference, looking slightly lost and uncomfortable, almost tearful, while being hedged in next to our confident Jamal waving his hands about, pointing this way and that, gesturing articulately, as if he was the one deciding how much water would flow to India. It must be a really horrifying experience for him to sit and listen to tiny Aranganathan telling him what his country is going to get, and what it it definitely is not.

I absolutely effing LOVE it.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 13 Feb 2010 16:17

All this porki rhona-dhona and chest beating about the diabolical Indian strategic plans vis a vis IWT reminds me of the '70s era Hindi movies. Remember those evil Pranesque-type villains who would "bund-karo (shut off) the good guy's hookah-paani"? Now that India has (almost) successfully shut off paki paani (got to remember this term), when will India shut off the proverbial Paki hookah? On that vein, what would constitute paki hookah?

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 13 Feb 2010 18:39

The tone of this wiki entry is not worthy of an encyclopedia. It is appalling that this entry is based on this "pakistani media report". Hardly worthy of a being a article of record.

Objections
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Waters_Treaty
Indus water treaty has deprived J & K state to use its own water resources and became one of the reasons for the alienation of people and has severely affected the economic development in the state. The state incurs losses estimated at Rs 6500 crore annually by the dint of Indus Water Treaty. There are losses in agricultural sector as well as in the generation of hydro-electric power which has otherwise an estimated potential of 20,000 MW.[1]

India is planning to construct Swal Kot Dam. After the construction of the dam river Chenab would also dry up like Ravi. Swal Kot Dam is expected to be higher than Tarbela Dam and Mangla Dam. The height of the Swal Kot Dam is 646 feet and the storage capacity of Swal Kot Dam is expected to be 13 times higher than the disputed Baglihar Dam. In comparison the height of Tarbela is 485 feet while Mangla is 453 feet high. The project would cost $2 billion dollars and would produce 1200 MW of electricity. Swal Kot Dam is being constructed on river Chenab near the district Doda and Udham Pur which is just 70miles away from Pakistan. The design of the dam has been prepared by a Norwegian company. River Chenab would be completely dried up if the construction of the project would go ahead. Experts believe that if the construction is not stopped then the Pakistani economy specially the Agriculture sector would be completely destroyed.[2]

-------------------
Indus Water Treaty 1960 (clicky) document from World Bank archives.

Sridhar's SRR: The Indus Water Treaty

this link on the very post of this dhaaga is not working. http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... &start=320
can anybody tell me how to get the correct dhaaga? where should i be looking thanks.

can we collect important documents on Indus Waters in the first post of this thread?
thanks.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Feb 2010 19:56

Pakistan concerned over Afghan dam on River Kabul

I am posting this here as River Kabul is a tributary of the Sindhu river.

Pakistan voiced its concerns on the dam being built on River Kabul with India’s assistance and suggested a profound engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan to address these concerns.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Feb 2010 20:00

Pakistani MNAs slam India for blocking Pakistan's share of water

Criticising India for constructing dams on rivers providing water to Pakistan, members of the National Assembly on Friday said the actions were causing deficiency of water in Pakistan, which could result in a drought situation.

Speaking on an adjournment motion regarding India’s construction of Baghlihar and Kishan Ganga dams as well as the Wullar Barrage on the rivers in violation of the Indus Water Treaty, 1960, Barjees Tahir of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) warned that Indian actions could trigger war between the two South Asian countries. “It is water terrorism. India wants to make Pakistan barren,” he said.

Marvi Memon of the PML-Quaid said that India had declared water war against Pakistan from the eastern and western fronts. She said that on one hand India was building dams on the River Chenab, while on the other, it was working with the Afghan government to stop water from the River Kabul. She said that Indian water aggression was costing 3,900 megawatts of electricity to Pakistan, and loss worth $12 billion to the agriculture sector. {The new jalebi} She said India was cultivating its lands on expense of Pakistan’s lands, for which the government of Pakistan should be compensated.

“The government should use aggressive diplomacy to get this claim reimbursed and get India to stop its hydropower blocks,” she added. The PML-Q legislator said that like the Indus Water Treaty, the inter-provincial water accord of 1991 should also be respected. Others who spoke on the issue included Malik Shakir Awan, Parveen Masood Bhatti and Sheikh Aftab. They said India had constructed a 28-mile-long tunnel in the Kargil area to get water from the Indus River , which was also a clear violation of the Indus Water Treaty. They urged the government to take effective measures to stop India from these illegal actions, and to claim penalty against the damages. They also called upon the government to launch a diplomatic campaign to stop India from causing damages to Pakistan. staff report

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 13 Feb 2010 20:57

tsriram wrote:Pakis just can't stop thinking outside the ummah box.

Outside the ummah box is jahilliyat.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 13 Feb 2010 23:15

SSridhar wrote:Pakistani MNAs slam India for blocking Pakistan's share of water
They said India had constructed a 28-mile-long tunnel in the Kargil area to get water from the Indus River

I think they are referring to the water diversion tunnel of the Kishenganga HE project. Thought sadly it is not meant for "stealing" water and the diverted water still makes it to Pakistan.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 14 Feb 2010 00:33

SSridhar wrote:Pakistan concerned over Afghan dam on River Kabul

I am posting this here as River Kabul is a tributary of the Sindhu river.
Pakistan voiced its concerns on the dam being built on River Kabul with India’s assistance and suggested a profound engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan to address these concerns.

I think this is the joker in the pack.

The Kabul river is essentially untapped at the moment and supplies about 36 MAF or about 1/3 the flow in the Indus.

There is no water agreement with Kabul, and so Kabul is free to take it all if it so wishes. There are numerous dam and irrigation projects proposed that will dramatically increase its use. See link below.

Kabul river report

At some point TSP will have to realize that much of this water will have to be given up.

The sad thing is that it more likely to affect Sindh than Pakjab. Only India has the power to drain that particular swamp.