India has started filling the Baglihar Dam in clear violation of the Indus Basin Water Treaty, bringing the inflow in Chenab River down to a historic low of 20,000 cusecs and forcing Pakistan to launch a protest with India’s Indus Commissioner.
“Although the Indians can fill the dam between June 21 and Aug 31, they can only do so by releasing at least 55,000 cusecs downstream,” says Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, Pakistan’s Indus Commissioner. But this has not been the case and is a clear violation of the Indus Basin Treaty.
“We made a call to the Indian Indus Basin Water Treaty Commissioner who promised to get back after checking the facts from irrigation authorities in occupied Kashmir.”
The commissioner’s office has also informed the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Water and Power about the situation, which would also take up the issue with the Indian agency concerned. But it certainly was a violation of the Indus Basin Water Treaty, as Pakistan had always feared when the Indians were building the dam, he said.
“Inflow in the Chenab river has gone down to 20,000 cusecs on Friday against its historic low of 35,000 cusecs,” says Babar Hassan Bharwana, Punjab Irrigation Secretary. The low inflow in the river indicates some kind of tampering with the inflows. The department has already informed the Indus Commissioner (Pakistan) and requested him to inform the Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Water and Power to take up the issue at country-to-country level.
Inflow in the Chenab river has never gone below 35,000 cusecs. With its dropping to a paltry 20,000 cusecs, the province would have to manage additional supplies from Mangla Dam, which was already facing filling crisis, the secretary said.
The department has been releasing only 10,000 cusecs from Mangla Dam for power generation purposes and meeting all irrigation requirements from Chenab inflows. The situation would now reverse for the country and the Mangla Dam might start depleting before it could be filled, putting pressure on reserves and increasing shortages during the Rabi season, he said.
Indus Water Treaty
Re: Indus Water Treaty
India filling Baglihar by violating the IWT: Pak
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Test trials begin on Baglihar hydro electric power project.
The 450-MW Baglihar hydro electric power project on the Chenab river has commenced its test trials today, following the clean chit received from Pakistan. "The project is likely to be commissioned by end of this month. But before that we have started test trials of its three turbines and first turbine was switched on," Power Development department Secretary Sandeep Naik told PTI.
The Baglihar project, which has three turbines of 150 MW each was started in 1999. On July 31 this year, a three-member team from Pakistan led by Central Water Commission (Indus Water Treaty) Commissioner Syed Jamait Ali Shah had visited Baglihar project and had given a clean chit to the project in its report, after complete inspections.
Earlier in December 2006, the team had recommended to the World Bank that height of the dam should be decreased to 143 meters from the present 145 meters - a recommendation India subsequently accepted and implemented in 2007.
The project was started in 1999 and is almost complete after much delay due to dispute raised by Pakistan and changes undertaken in design. Around Rs 4,125.92 crore has been spent on the project, been constructed by J P Industries.
"This is first state-owned power project in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
The 450-MW Baglihar hydro electric power project on the Chenab river has commenced its test trials today, following the clean chit received from Pakistan. "The project is likely to be commissioned by end of this month. But before that we have started test trials of its three turbines and first turbine was switched on," Power Development department Secretary Sandeep Naik told PTI.
The Baglihar project, which has three turbines of 150 MW each was started in 1999. On July 31 this year, a three-member team from Pakistan led by Central Water Commission (Indus Water Treaty) Commissioner Syed Jamait Ali Shah had visited Baglihar project and had given a clean chit to the project in its report, after complete inspections.
Earlier in December 2006, the team had recommended to the World Bank that height of the dam should be decreased to 143 meters from the present 145 meters - a recommendation India subsequently accepted and implemented in 2007.
The project was started in 1999 and is almost complete after much delay due to dispute raised by Pakistan and changes undertaken in design. Around Rs 4,125.92 crore has been spent on the project, been constructed by J P Industries.
"This is first state-owned power project in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
India stops Chenab River water
Source: Our Staff Reporter submitted 41 minutes ago
LAHORE-Pakistan’s Indus Water Treaty Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah has disclosed that India is once again violating the Treaty and has stopped Chenab River water flowing to Pakistan to fill the Baglihar Dam in Held Kashmir.
He further said that India was also reluctant to respond to the Pakistani Commissioner’s queries in this regard.
He termed it a sheer violation of the Indus Water Treaty and said that he had been trying to contact his counterpart Auranga Nathan by phone since last two days but he was not available despite repeated attempts.
‘We have also informed the Ministry of Water and Power and Foreign Ministry to this effect’, he added.
He also said that according to the Indus Water Treaty, India can fill Baglihar Dam before August 31, but it is mandatory for India to ensure 25,000-cusec inflow of water at Marala Barrage.
The inflow of water at Marala Barrage was recorded at 32,365 cusec on Tuesday.
He said that all the canals at Ravi Link and Marala Barrage are closed due to the stoppage of Pakistan’s water at Chenab River, which would badly affect the rice and cotton crops in Southern Punjab.
Source: Our Staff Reporter submitted 41 minutes ago
LAHORE-Pakistan’s Indus Water Treaty Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah has disclosed that India is once again violating the Treaty and has stopped Chenab River water flowing to Pakistan to fill the Baglihar Dam in Held Kashmir.
He further said that India was also reluctant to respond to the Pakistani Commissioner’s queries in this regard.
He termed it a sheer violation of the Indus Water Treaty and said that he had been trying to contact his counterpart Auranga Nathan by phone since last two days but he was not available despite repeated attempts.
‘We have also informed the Ministry of Water and Power and Foreign Ministry to this effect’, he added.
He also said that according to the Indus Water Treaty, India can fill Baglihar Dam before August 31, but it is mandatory for India to ensure 25,000-cusec inflow of water at Marala Barrage.
The inflow of water at Marala Barrage was recorded at 32,365 cusec on Tuesday.
He said that all the canals at Ravi Link and Marala Barrage are closed due to the stoppage of Pakistan’s water at Chenab River, which would badly affect the rice and cotton crops in Southern Punjab.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Chenab level halved because of Baglihar: Pakistan
Water in the Chenab River has been reduced by 50 percent after India made the Baglihar Dam operational, Irrigation Secretary Babar Bharwana said on Friday. Talking to Express News, Bharwana said Pakistan had lodged a strong protest with India over the reduction of water level in the Chenab and demanded a visit to the dam. He said the minimum water level in the river at this time of the year is 40,000 cusecs, which had fallen to 18,000 cusecs after the dam started operating. He said that non-provision of the relevant information by India has led the Pakistani authorities to believe that India was stopping the river water.
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Raghavendra
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Re: Indus Water Treaty
The kafir yindians have done a great service to the momins by positively altering pakistan's geography to resemble the holy saudi arabian deserts. Pakistan banega another Saudi arabia.SSridhar wrote:Chenab level halved because of Baglihar: Pakistan
Water in the Chenab River has been reduced by 50 percent after India made the Baglihar Dam operational, Irrigation Secretary Babar Bharwana said on Friday. Talking to Express News, Bharwana said Pakistan had lodged a strong protest with India over the reduction of water level in the Chenab and demanded a visit to the dam. He said the minimum water level in the river at this time of the year is 40,000 cusecs, which had fallen to 18,000 cusecs after the dam started operating. He said that non-provision of the relevant information by India has led the Pakistani authorities to believe that India was stopping the river water.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
The kafir yindians have done a great service to the momins by positively altering pakistan's geography to resemble the holy saudi arabian deserts.
Come to think of it, Pakis must be grateful to India for the geography alterations to resemble Arabia...
Now, if the only the USAF would bomb Pakland back to the times of Mo...
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Raghavendra
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- Posts: 1252
- Joined: 11 Mar 2008 19:07
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Re: Indus Water Treaty
You kafirs will never understand. USaf always bombs people to stone age and mohammed lived in middle ages. So the USaf cant bomb pakistan to mo age as you kafir sum call it. The people who can send pakis to mo age are the 'Aryans'.sum wrote:The kafir yindians have done a great service to the momins by positively altering pakistan's geography to resemble the holy saudi arabian deserts.
Come to think of it, Pakis must be grateful to India for the geography alterations to resemble Arabia...
Now, if the only the USAF would bomb Pakland back to the times of Mo...
Yes people you heard it right. The might 'aryans' who are friends of harvard nazi professor witzell. These aryans will come riding on horses speaking a proto indo-european language and destroy the pakis.
All hail witzell and his aryans.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Crisis deepens as India blocks Chenab
The sources said India’s unilateral decision to stop the Chenab flows had put additional pressure on the irrigation system of Pakistan, which used to receive more than 23,000 cusecs a day until last week, but it had now been brought down to almost zero.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Wow , DAM...ed Pakistan.
Now these retards can live on Jam Jam kola shipped from Saudi Camel bans.
Now these retards can live on Jam Jam kola shipped from Saudi Camel bans.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Pakistan to claim Chenab compensation from India
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Pakistan has decided to claim compensation from India for the agriculture loss it suffered due to the latter’s stoppage of water flow into the Chenab River, Aaj TV reported on Monday.
Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah told the channel that data relating to the previous record of water flow in Chenab had been provided to NESPAK to ascertain the loss arising out of the stoppage. Shah said Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf would chair a meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the procedure for demanding compensation. He said that India had stopped Pakistan’s 200,000 acre-feet water from August 1 to September 12 to fill its Baglihar Dam lake in Indian-held Kashmir.
Separately, Punjab Irrigation Adviser Mehmoodul Hassan said that water level in all the canals flowing from the Chenab had fallen by 40 percent, posing threat to the per acre production of rice and cotton.
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Pakistan has decided to claim compensation from India for the agriculture loss it suffered due to the latter’s stoppage of water flow into the Chenab River, Aaj TV reported on Monday.
Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah told the channel that data relating to the previous record of water flow in Chenab had been provided to NESPAK to ascertain the loss arising out of the stoppage. Shah said Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf would chair a meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the procedure for demanding compensation. He said that India had stopped Pakistan’s 200,000 acre-feet water from August 1 to September 12 to fill its Baglihar Dam lake in Indian-held Kashmir.
Separately, Punjab Irrigation Adviser Mehmoodul Hassan said that water level in all the canals flowing from the Chenab had fallen by 40 percent, posing threat to the per acre production of rice and cotton.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
All TSP newspapers are going ballistic on the imaginary fear of India impounding waters.
DAWN Editorial
Protest lodged with India over reduced Chenab flow
DAWN Editorial
Protest lodged with India over reduced Chenab flow
Re: Indus Water Treaty
The Pakis are such a disjointed nation that such Goebbelian propaganda is always needed to keep the faith-fool from blowing up each other.....If it wasn't Chenab water being denied, it would have been something else like a GoI minister farting in the direction of the Pure-land thus causing an outrage....
Re: Indus Water Treaty
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=136167
Blockade of Chenab River inflicts Rs37bn loss to agriculture
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
By Khalid Mustafa
ISLAMABAD: Punjab, the food basket of entire Pakistan, has sustained a huge monetary loss amounting to almost Rs37 billion in the wake of a blockade of Chenab River by India.
According to a senior official in the Punjab irrigation department, over 10 million acres of land in the province has been affected and the standing paddy crop in the area has suffered a lot, as it was the time of maturity and the province badly needed the last watering, which could not be completed just because of the blatant violations of Indus Waters Treaty 1960 by India and continuing to fill up the dead shortage of Baglihar HPP beyond August 31, 2008.
Under the treaty, India cannot reduce the flow in Chenab River below 55,000 cusecs between 21st June and August 31, 2008, whereas Pakistan had been receiving a discharge of as low as 20,000 cusecs during August-September 2008.
The official further said that the government had projected the rice production at 5.7 million tonnes, but the reduction in flows in Chenab River at this point of time will reduce the production by 15 to 20 per cent. This means that rice production will come down from the expected target of 5.7 million tonnes to 4.7 million tonnes.
To a question, he said that these are the preliminary estimates. However, Punjab irrigation department has started working to exactly asses the losses, which the agrarian economy of the province will sustain.
To a question he said that 10 million acres land in areas of Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Hafizabad, Faisalabad, Okara, Lahore, Pak Patan, Vehari and Bawalnaghar have been affected. Out of 10 million acres of land, 5.6 million acres of land has adversely been affected in the areas of Sialkot, Gujranwala, Jhang, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura.
When contacted, Pakistan Commissioner of Indus Water Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, who was on his way to Lahore after attending the meeting in Islamabad held on Tuesday with Minister for Water & Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf in the chair over the interference of flows of River Chenab at Marala head works in Pakistan, said that Pakistan has the option to move Neutral Expert or Court of Arbitration seeking for penalty against India for violation of the treaty.
“First the issue will be taken up at the level of Permanent Commission of Indus Waters (PCIW) for solution once and for all and incase of failure, Pakistan has the option to move Neutral Expert and Court of Arbitration.”
He said that Neutral Expert under the treaty can be moved for compensation of water loss and Arbitration Court for financial loss in case India refuses to pay the compensation.
In the forthcoming meeting of PCIW, he said that Pakistan would come up with solid proof based on undeniable data about the blatant violation of the treaty committed by India.
To another query, Shah said that India has stored 0.2 million acre feet of water for Baglihar project to make it operational in the current month of September.
He vowed that he is to soon visit the site of the Bagluhar project as he has sought dates for the visit from Indian Commission of Indus Water to this effect. However, he said that the Indian Commission is still unmoved over the demand of Pakistan seeking the data of inflows in Chenab River. “My counterpart has so far shown inability in letting us know about the exact inflows of the Chenab River.”
Meanwhile, a very crucial meeting on the reduction in flows of River Chenab at Marala head works was held in the Ministry of Water & Power under the Chairmanship of Minister for Water & Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf. The meeting was attended by senior officers of Ministry of Water & Power, Foreign Office PCIW, Law & Justice, WAPDA, Irrigation Department, Punjab and the related institutions.
The meeting was apprised that India had committed a blatant violation of the Indus Water Treaty by reducing Chenab flows to Pakistan and continuing to fill up the dead shortage of Baglihar HPP beyond August 31, 2008.
Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Water (PCIW) gave a detailed presentation on the issue and informed that he had already taken up the issue with his Indian counterpart. This was followed by a comprehensive discussion. The members were apprised that the initial filling of dead storage of Baglihar Plant in AJ&K on river Chenab resulted in to a substantial reduction of water at Marala.
This has caused a massive agricultural loss to vast areas of Marala command canals. It has also resulted in early depletion of Mangla dam reserves so as to mitigate some of the adverse affects on certain canals. The overall loss to the national economy (loss of water, damage to agricultural crops, overconsumption of energy for running tube wells, etc) had thus been colossal, which are being assessed by the Government of Punjab.
Blockade of Chenab River inflicts Rs37bn loss to agriculture
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
By Khalid Mustafa
ISLAMABAD: Punjab, the food basket of entire Pakistan, has sustained a huge monetary loss amounting to almost Rs37 billion in the wake of a blockade of Chenab River by India.
According to a senior official in the Punjab irrigation department, over 10 million acres of land in the province has been affected and the standing paddy crop in the area has suffered a lot, as it was the time of maturity and the province badly needed the last watering, which could not be completed just because of the blatant violations of Indus Waters Treaty 1960 by India and continuing to fill up the dead shortage of Baglihar HPP beyond August 31, 2008.
Under the treaty, India cannot reduce the flow in Chenab River below 55,000 cusecs between 21st June and August 31, 2008, whereas Pakistan had been receiving a discharge of as low as 20,000 cusecs during August-September 2008.
The official further said that the government had projected the rice production at 5.7 million tonnes, but the reduction in flows in Chenab River at this point of time will reduce the production by 15 to 20 per cent. This means that rice production will come down from the expected target of 5.7 million tonnes to 4.7 million tonnes.
To a question, he said that these are the preliminary estimates. However, Punjab irrigation department has started working to exactly asses the losses, which the agrarian economy of the province will sustain.
To a question he said that 10 million acres land in areas of Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Hafizabad, Faisalabad, Okara, Lahore, Pak Patan, Vehari and Bawalnaghar have been affected. Out of 10 million acres of land, 5.6 million acres of land has adversely been affected in the areas of Sialkot, Gujranwala, Jhang, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura.
When contacted, Pakistan Commissioner of Indus Water Syed Jamaat Ali Shah, who was on his way to Lahore after attending the meeting in Islamabad held on Tuesday with Minister for Water & Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf in the chair over the interference of flows of River Chenab at Marala head works in Pakistan, said that Pakistan has the option to move Neutral Expert or Court of Arbitration seeking for penalty against India for violation of the treaty.
“First the issue will be taken up at the level of Permanent Commission of Indus Waters (PCIW) for solution once and for all and incase of failure, Pakistan has the option to move Neutral Expert and Court of Arbitration.”
He said that Neutral Expert under the treaty can be moved for compensation of water loss and Arbitration Court for financial loss in case India refuses to pay the compensation.
In the forthcoming meeting of PCIW, he said that Pakistan would come up with solid proof based on undeniable data about the blatant violation of the treaty committed by India.
To another query, Shah said that India has stored 0.2 million acre feet of water for Baglihar project to make it operational in the current month of September.
He vowed that he is to soon visit the site of the Bagluhar project as he has sought dates for the visit from Indian Commission of Indus Water to this effect. However, he said that the Indian Commission is still unmoved over the demand of Pakistan seeking the data of inflows in Chenab River. “My counterpart has so far shown inability in letting us know about the exact inflows of the Chenab River.”
Meanwhile, a very crucial meeting on the reduction in flows of River Chenab at Marala head works was held in the Ministry of Water & Power under the Chairmanship of Minister for Water & Power, Raja Pervez Ashraf. The meeting was attended by senior officers of Ministry of Water & Power, Foreign Office PCIW, Law & Justice, WAPDA, Irrigation Department, Punjab and the related institutions.
The meeting was apprised that India had committed a blatant violation of the Indus Water Treaty by reducing Chenab flows to Pakistan and continuing to fill up the dead shortage of Baglihar HPP beyond August 31, 2008.
Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Water (PCIW) gave a detailed presentation on the issue and informed that he had already taken up the issue with his Indian counterpart. This was followed by a comprehensive discussion. The members were apprised that the initial filling of dead storage of Baglihar Plant in AJ&K on river Chenab resulted in to a substantial reduction of water at Marala.
This has caused a massive agricultural loss to vast areas of Marala command canals. It has also resulted in early depletion of Mangla dam reserves so as to mitigate some of the adverse affects on certain canals. The overall loss to the national economy (loss of water, damage to agricultural crops, overconsumption of energy for running tube wells, etc) had thus been colossal, which are being assessed by the Government of Punjab.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Pakis are Olympic champion in the art of begging. If the loss is true then we can pretty much "breastimate" Pakjabi agarian economy which is 80% of whole Bakjabi economy.Vivek_A wrote:http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=136167
Blockade of Chenab River inflicts Rs37bn loss to agriculture
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
By Kha-lidh Mustafa
to agricultural crops, overconsumption of energy for running tube wells, etc) had thus been colossal, which are being assessed by the Government of Punjab.
Either Baki inflate their loss to match their Shorcuttian GDP numbers or get ready to accept they have not made any economic progress in last 10 years . Either way they are lying as usual.-
ranganathan
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Re: Indus Water Treaty
Good Job by GOI. Just withhold the waters till end of crop season and then flood them. Pakjab being the heart and soul of papistan will be crushed for a long time. More financial burden for chinks and saudis.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Najam Sethi's Edit
Our commissioner under the Waters Treaty has always preferred alarmism to missing out on breaches, and this time too he has warned that India may be blocking Chenab waters in violation of the Treaty. But the federal secretary for Water and Power has been commendably non-alarmist, saying that all rivers are running low and Chenab too could be low for both India and Pakistan, and that a determination of the actual storage at Baglihar hydel project in Kashmir will clear up the facts in a day or two. But one still fears that Urdu editorials, pointing to famine next year because of India’s “act of blocking waters”, may whip up completely undue passions.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Pakistan to approach World Bank once again, over Chenab
Pakistan on Tuesday decided to approach the World Bank (WB) in a last ditch effort for arbitration over a violation of the Indus Water Treaty by India if New Delhi did not concede the violation.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
India's explanation
Menon later told reporters that Pakistan had been informed that Baglihar Dam was being filled and there would be a reduction in the Chenab water level. Menon said the figures provided by the high commissioner were much lower than the actual water released by India. “We proposed a meeting...to sort out these figures,” he said.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
These monkeys know full well that we will not mess with the water, unless situation is very dire indeed, and then water may be the last issue on their minds...
I see clear signals of danger ahead coming from Pakistan - they may be preparing for a rash act. All indications point towards that: LOC violations, whining about water, the bombings in India, the sudden injection of life into the hurriyat and others, the pettiness about cricket, Kayani's comment on J&K...
It points to the effectiveness of the American campaign on their Western border. The military is getting into "strategic defiance" mode and rays of tactical brilliance are visible on the horizon.
We need to stay loose and ready for fast movement.
I see clear signals of danger ahead coming from Pakistan - they may be preparing for a rash act. All indications point towards that: LOC violations, whining about water, the bombings in India, the sudden injection of life into the hurriyat and others, the pettiness about cricket, Kayani's comment on J&K...
It points to the effectiveness of the American campaign on their Western border. The military is getting into "strategic defiance" mode and rays of tactical brilliance are visible on the horizon.
We need to stay loose and ready for fast movement.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
x-posted:
Regarding this whole issue of Chenab river flow -- is it possible that India is doing it on cue from Uncle? After all, Pak is now panicking and threatening to take the matter to the World Bank -- an organization well-known to be controlled by Uncle.
You have to admit, this would be an ideal way to flex muscle against Pak, and quickly make it feel humble. Personally, I certainly don't mind turning Pak into a desert wasteland. And less water for them means more water for us.
This is how the game of GoodCop-BadCop is played. If Uncle wants to give us a positive nod on doing this, then I'm all for it.
What could Pak do -- threaten to nuke the dam? I don't think they'd benefit much from radioactive water flowing into their territory anyway.
Regarding this whole issue of Chenab river flow -- is it possible that India is doing it on cue from Uncle? After all, Pak is now panicking and threatening to take the matter to the World Bank -- an organization well-known to be controlled by Uncle.
You have to admit, this would be an ideal way to flex muscle against Pak, and quickly make it feel humble. Personally, I certainly don't mind turning Pak into a desert wasteland. And less water for them means more water for us.
This is how the game of GoodCop-BadCop is played. If Uncle wants to give us a positive nod on doing this, then I'm all for it.
What could Pak do -- threaten to nuke the dam? I don't think they'd benefit much from radioactive water flowing into their territory anyway.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
And just how do Paki's measure how much is the short supply since they cannot work out outflows amongst themselves ?
Another slightly older link.
And these dumbshots are ready to wage war on the Chenab.
Telemetry system unable to monitor water outflow’
By Zafar Bhutta
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank expert in its final report has informed government authorities that the Telemetry system installed in Pakistan was not able to work independently to monitor the outflow of water, a senior official in Water and Power Ministry told Daily Times on Friday.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp? ... 008_pg5_12Data working group will work to end the differences regarding the distribution of water and if the this group fails to end differences on data about distribution of water then technical working group will help abolish the technical complexities in the telemetry system. These groups would also coordinate with provincial agricultural departments
Another slightly older link.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.as ... 006_pg7_22IRSA and provinces call telemetry system ‘substandard’
Daily Times Monitor
ISLAMABAD: The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) and four provinces have termed Water And Power Development Authority (WAPDA)’s telemetry system as “substandard”, reported Geo television on Wednesday.
An IRSA meeting, presided by chairman Shafqat Masood, said the system should be made useful after consultation with all provinces. Officials from the provinces, Agriculture Department and WAPDA attended the meeting, reported Geo.
The channel quoted sources as saying that the meeting had mocked the current telemetry system. “All provinces agreed that the telemetry system was not functioning properly and its data was untrustworthy and often erroneous,” said sources.
And these dumbshots are ready to wage war on the Chenab.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Another chest-beating on the Chenab
Pakistan's worst fears about the construction of Baglihar dam over the River Chenab - one of the three rivers for which the World Bank brokered and signed the Indus Basin Treaty (IBT) of 1960 gave exclusive water rights to Pakistan - seem to be coming true. Islamabad had objected strongly to the dam due to the fear that it would enable Delhi to block the water flow at a time of its choosing.
It has done just that when the wheat-sowing season is about to begin in Pakistan and the Kahrif crop, including cotton, rice and sugarcane, at different stages of maturation, need watering.
The situation is so dire that the Punjab Water Council held an emergency meeting on Sunday, expressing the concern that the government had not taken up the issue with the Indian government in a forceful manner. As a matter of fact, the Pakistan Indus Water Commission and other concerned government officials have been too slow to respond to the situation.
What they have to show for their efforts so far is a meeting scheduled for September 16 to take stock of the situation and consider approaching New Delhi for a solution. Official attitude is reflective of a general sense of drift that has come to be associated with the present government.
It may be recalled that the previous government had taken the Baglihar dam dispute to the World Bank, which had appointed a neutral expert to resolve the issue. A year-and-a half-ago this expert, a Swiss engineer, gave his verdict which, while supporting India's right to build a run-of-the-river hydroelectric project, upheld some of Pakistan's objections.
He suggested a few design changes, including that the pondage capacity of the dam be reduced by 13.5 percent and its height by 1.5 metres. More importantly, the verdict required the power intake tunnels to be raised by 3 metres. This particular provision was to help limit flow control. The two countries had said they would honour the verdict, but India has failed to make the necessary design alterations. {What a lie. The TSP Indus Commissioner has just a few weeks back inspected Baglihar and accepted the design changes have been implemented}
Even if one ignores the design-related issues, India stands guilty of violating the IBT in bringing down the water flow in Chenab to an all time low of 20,000 cusecs. As the Punjab Water Council has pointed out, the treaty allows India to retain some water between June 21 and August 31, the period being the flood season. But if the downstream water flow is below 55,000 cusecs, it is absolutely forbidden to hold back any water.
The difference between what is and what should be is too wide, and hence inexcusable. It could easily ruin our agriculture sector while water scarcity and other problems are already causing serious food shortages. Water scarcity in the future is going to get only worse the world over. If India is allowed to get away with its stoppage of Chenab water now it may try the trick again.
Islamabad, therefore, must put its act together and try and secure the country's water rights. It must knock at the door of the World Bank to ask it to use its clout with India as an IBT signatory, and also take up the issue, on a priority basis, with India through the relevant diplomatic channels. It is too important an issue to allow any delay or delinquency.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
How to resolve the Baglihar crisis
THE Indian violation of the filling criteria of the Baglihar Dam, which is part of the Indus Basin Water Treaty, has proved it to be an undependable partner even in treaties backed by international guarantees.
It is not for the first time that India has stopped Chenab water to fill its newly-built dam. It did the same in August, and almost got away with it. Pakistan protested, and it only partially restored supplies. This time, it did not even bother to do that after formal protest and kept filling the dam, damaging Pakistan’s rice crop on 2.6 million acre.
Pakistan is currently assessing the extent of damage to file a financial or water claim under the treaty, which will naturally be hotly contested by India, and may take the process years to be completed. Through repeated violations of the treaty, be it on Kishanganga dam, Wuller Barrage and now Baglihar Dam, India has been testing Pakistan’s diplomatic resolve and institutional capacity to ensure provisions of the treaty. Unfortunately, Pakistan has failed every time.
In the case of Baglihar Dam, the original sin lies in Pakistan’s acceptance of the decision by the neutral expert last year. Instead of going for a review, Pakistan, to the utter astonishment of farmers and water experts, declared victory in the verdict and then kept silent on the issue. It did so in spite of the fact that Raymond Latiffe, the neutral expert, had pronounced a decision which was beyond his term of reference, and armed India with a leverage to rig filling criteria and treaty provisions — a fact proved by the current tempering of water flows.
Unfortunately, by the time the decision of the neutral expert came, the PML-Q government was on its way out and the caretaker set-up was about to take over. The caretakers, despite strong protests from farmer bodies, did not apply for a review. Since the PPP government took over, the matter had been on the back burner till India stopped water flows and shook it out of slumber.
Interestingly, it is not only the successive governments shirking the responsibility but the official agencies involved in water issues have also developed the same indifferent attitude — passing the proverbial buck on to the next available target.
The Punjab government, which is the biggest stakeholder of the Chenab water, thinks that since the Indus Basin Treaty was signed by the federal government, it has become a ‘federal subject,’ to be exclusively dealt with by the federal government. The federal government, on its part, has relegated the subject to the Indus Commissioner, which, unfortunately, is ‘one-man show,’ without any institutional and expert back-up. In the absence of such a support, the Commissionerate acts more as a post office, conducting protest correspondence in case of violation and routine visits required by the treaty, rather than leading the initiative.
The Indus River System Authority (Irsa), which is supposed to manage the entire Indus basin, figures is no where in the entire dispute.
As the recent crisis has proved, water for agriculture is too important a subject to be left to any one of these agencies, especially when they lack capacity to deal with it. Currently, the entire government — the ministry of water and power, the Indus Commissionerate, foreign office, Pakistan’s Envoy to India — is protesting at the stoppage of water but failing move the Indian government into releasing Chenab water as per Indus Basin Water Treaty. It raises a natural question; if the entire government cannot force India to ensure treaty provision, how a single handicapped government agency could do the job?
With India tampering Chenab inflows twice within two months, the federal government must realise that its current handling of Indus Basin Treaty is not yielding desired results. The federation, on its part, must strengthen institutional capacity to deal with the treaty and other water issues in the country. To do that, it should create a permanent institutional set up that could work as a think tank but train government officials and other stakeholders of the water sector.
It must also create a panel of experts on international laws concerning water issues. India is sure to continue creating problems for Pakistan in future as well. Instead of reacting to crisis every time, the institution must develop different projections regarding the treaty provisions and devise mechanism to preempt them.
Pakistan had to hire four international experts (Prof James Crawford, Samuel Wordsworth, Peter Joseph Rae and Dr George Ananbale) when it referred the Baglihar case to the World Bank because it did not have local expertise. With this kind of manpower paucity in the sector, no wonder finds itself at disadvantage vis-à-vis India every time a crisis erupts. Pakistan must urgently create an institution that could provide it with expertise to deal with cross-border water crisis.
The Punjab government may continue thinking that the Indus Basin Water Treaty is a federal subject, but the fact remains that the entire rice belt, which got, and would get, affected, falls within its provincial boundaries and all those affected belong to it.
It must lead the initiatives by creating parallel institution that could build capacity of provincial water managers. Of all, the bureaucracy of the Punjab Irrigation Department has been the most unimaginative ever since India started building the dam way back in 1994. For the last 14 years, it neither realised the repercussions of the Chenab water stoppage nor created any alternative way to feed the area.
In addition to training its manpower, it should also create alternative routes to feed the rice belt. The Mangla-Marala Link Canal project, which has been lying with the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for the last many years, must be dusted off and executed on priority basis. Otherwise the rice crop would remain vulnerable to Indian tampering every year.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Now Water is the core issue.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
What the Pakistani establishment is trying to do is that they want to pre-empt or at least delay the rightful uses of water by India as allowed by the IWT. They know that India has not yet exercised its rights of using water from the western rivers, which Pakistan has been claiming falsely as entirely belonging to them. By painting India as a villain at every possible opportunity, they feel that India may deem it fit to delay any plans for these waters as well, apart from delaying other run-of-the-river hydroelectric projects. With no possibility of Kalabagh or Daimar-Basha dams and with Tarbela & Mangla having lost more than 25% of their capacities due to silt, with an arid-to-semi-arid climatic zone for most of Pakistan, Pakistan is going to be squeezed hard in the next 5 years or so, if it continues to exist in its present form. It is moving towards a denouement faster than expected.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.as ... 008_pg5_22
‘Pakistan loses $1.5bn due to water blockade’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Economy Watch said that India has inflicted a loss of $1.5 billion on Pakistan due to the water blockade. Over five million acres of Kharif crops, particularly cotton and sugarcane, are facing devastation but the prime sufferer would be Rabi crop. The continuous closure of Chenab will hit the Rabi crops especially wheat, and lack of water will result in low production which will have serious consequences. “We had over 23 million tonnes of wheat this year but additional 2 million tones were imported; the ratio is set to increase as a shortfall of 40 percent water is expected during,” said Dr Murtaza Mughal, President, Pakistan Economy Watch. Pakistan is facing a shortfall of 36,000 to 37,000 cusecs daily and Government is being forced for excessive discharge from dams to save the standing crops. staff report
‘Pakistan loses $1.5bn due to water blockade’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Economy Watch said that India has inflicted a loss of $1.5 billion on Pakistan due to the water blockade. Over five million acres of Kharif crops, particularly cotton and sugarcane, are facing devastation but the prime sufferer would be Rabi crop. The continuous closure of Chenab will hit the Rabi crops especially wheat, and lack of water will result in low production which will have serious consequences. “We had over 23 million tonnes of wheat this year but additional 2 million tones were imported; the ratio is set to increase as a shortfall of 40 percent water is expected during,” said Dr Murtaza Mughal, President, Pakistan Economy Watch. Pakistan is facing a shortfall of 36,000 to 37,000 cusecs daily and Government is being forced for excessive discharge from dams to save the standing crops. staff report
Re: Indus Water Treaty
it always was. the heads of the rivers that water the prime agricultural lands of the punjabi military land owning power class are all in the himalaya, located incidentally in a region known as jammu and kashmirZin wrote:Now Water is the core issue.
the original causus belli was exactly this, dressed up as jehad, cos thats what they like
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Re: Indus Water Treaty
Pakistan should get out of this IWT which is so unfavourable to them and renegotiate with India.
This was they can get all what they want to be put in the new aggrement. Maybe India will give them right over each and every drop of water of all 5 rivers.
Whining will not help the brave nation of Pakistan. The treaty was a conspiracy of Jews (who controlled world bank), Cunning brahmin Pt.Nehru and enemies of Islam.
Dump IWT. Pakistan surely does not want a non-just treaty.Do they ?
This was they can get all what they want to be put in the new aggrement. Maybe India will give them right over each and every drop of water of all 5 rivers.
Whining will not help the brave nation of Pakistan. The treaty was a conspiracy of Jews (who controlled world bank), Cunning brahmin Pt.Nehru and enemies of Islam.
Dump IWT. Pakistan surely does not want a non-just treaty.Do they ?
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Pakistan should get out of this IWT which is so unfavourable to them and renegotiate with India
Paki's don't have the expertize to renegotiate. They don't understand what is happening. They can only behave like illiterates making noise based on hunches. Read an excerpt from the article posted above..
Paki's don't have the expertize to renegotiate. They don't understand what is happening. They can only behave like illiterates making noise based on hunches. Read an excerpt from the article posted above..
Pakistan had to hire four international experts (Prof James Crawford, Samuel Wordsworth, Peter Joseph Rae and Dr George Ananbale) when it referred the Baglihar case to the World Bank because it did not have local expertise. With this kind of manpower paucity in the sector, no wonder finds itself at disadvantage vis-à-vis India every time a crisis erupts. Pakistan must urgently create an institution that could provide it with expertise to deal with cross-border water crisis.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Availability of water this year in Indus Rivers - DAWN
In fact, Chenab has the highest availability among all rivers.He said availability in Indus River had been estimated at 50 per cent, Kabul 60 per cent, Jhelum 55 per cent and Chenab 80 per cent.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
India will implement IWT in letter and spirit
India on Thursday told Pakistan that it is committed to implement the Indus Water Treaty that allows equitable distribution of water from Chenab river. "The Indus Water Treaty will be implemented in letter and spirit. It is the obligation of the Government of India.
And we (will) invite the Indus Water Commissioner soon after Eid to look after the situation," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was quoted as saying to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
Re: Indus Water Treaty
India & Pakistan in race to complete hydel project
In the latest twist to the issue, Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik has threatened to take the dispute to a third party for arbitration following several rounds of fruitless talks between experts of both countries. In response, India has accelerated works on the project because it fears that if the project is not completed earlier than the downstream Neelum-Jhelum project in Pakistan, it may permanently lose its rights to utilise this site.
Apprehensive that Pakistan could plead before a court of arbitration to get the Kishanganga project stopped, India took the unusual step of completing the digging work on a diversion tunnel even before the project could be awarded to a company. And now with none of the companies participating in the tender prepared to pick up the contract on the amount indicated by the government, New Delhi is prepared to extend several concessions, including a huge loan of more than Rs.2,000 crores at a minimal interest of one per cent which will be applicable after the project is functional.
India’s eagerness to start work on a commercially unviable project stems from the Foreign Office’s understanding that if Pakistan achieves significant progress on the three times larger Neelum-Jhelum project and the contracts of the Indian project are not even awarded, India’s position on the project will be weakened.
In case Pakistan takes the dispute before a third party and the project remains a non-starter, India could even lose the case.
In compliance
India firmly believes that the Kishanganga project is in compliance with the Indus Waters Treaty and rejects Pakistan’s claims for using its waters for irrigation and hydro-electric use as not credible and non-existent, respectively. On the basis of departmentally executed civil works and excavation of the diversion tunnel, it claims that while work on the project is ongoing, Pakistan has only completed feasibility studies on the Chinese-funded Neelum-Jhelum hydel project.
The project envisages construction of a 100-foot dam and diverting the water into an underground powerhouse near Bandipur.
Preliminary construction work is being done while the digging of the diversion tunnel has been completed. The project was to be completed in 2014 but the bids saw contenders quoting much higher than the anticipated cost.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Sridhar sir, is this true or usual Paki noises from their Musharraf?In case Pakistan takes the dispute before a third party and the project remains a non-starter, India could even lose the case.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
This is true, but, IMHO, India has already sewn up the case.
The Kishenganga, a tributary of Jhelum and known as Neelum on the Pakistani side, joins Jhelum at Muzzafarabad. The Indian project involves a diversion of KG through Wullar into Jhelum through a 27 Km long tunnel through the North Kashmir ranges to bring the water to the Wullar lake where a hydroelectric power station will be built as part of an integrated project. The Kashmir Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah signed an MoU with the Union Power Minister in July, 2000 for the project. The National Hydroelectric Power Corp. (NHPC) was entrusted with this project on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis. The CEA cleared the project in June, 2004
The IWT allows India to store waters on Neelum for power generation and so Pakistan wants to start its project first in order to deny waters to India claiming the principle of “prior appropriation”, per Paragraph 15(iii), Part-3, Annexure-D which states “where a Plant is located on a Tributary of The Jhelum on which Pakistan has any Agricultural use or hydroelectric use, the water released below the Plant may be delivered, if necessary, into another Tributary but only to the extent existing Agricultural Use or hydroelectric use by Pakistan on the former Tributary would not be adversely affected”.
The emphasized word 'existing' is very important. There is nothing 'existing' on the Pakistani soil today when the Indian project has already started off the ground. Pakistani wet dreams do not count in this.
India also claims that the waters will ultimately reach Pakistan through Jhelum though not through Kishenganga (Neelum). In the meanwhile, Pakistan has felt the urgency to take up its USD 1.6 Billion Neelum –Jhelum Hydropower Project by appointing a private company, NESPAK, as consultants and complete the international bidding and evaluation by April, 2005. But, nothing has happened on the Pakistani side ever since for reasons of funding and technical assistance. Nobody had been willing to get associated and at last the Chinese came to their rescue but with the abduction of Chinese engineers a few years back, they have made no progress at all.
The Kishenganga, a tributary of Jhelum and known as Neelum on the Pakistani side, joins Jhelum at Muzzafarabad. The Indian project involves a diversion of KG through Wullar into Jhelum through a 27 Km long tunnel through the North Kashmir ranges to bring the water to the Wullar lake where a hydroelectric power station will be built as part of an integrated project. The Kashmir Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah signed an MoU with the Union Power Minister in July, 2000 for the project. The National Hydroelectric Power Corp. (NHPC) was entrusted with this project on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis. The CEA cleared the project in June, 2004
The IWT allows India to store waters on Neelum for power generation and so Pakistan wants to start its project first in order to deny waters to India claiming the principle of “prior appropriation”, per Paragraph 15(iii), Part-3, Annexure-D which states “where a Plant is located on a Tributary of The Jhelum on which Pakistan has any Agricultural use or hydroelectric use, the water released below the Plant may be delivered, if necessary, into another Tributary but only to the extent existing Agricultural Use or hydroelectric use by Pakistan on the former Tributary would not be adversely affected”.
The emphasized word 'existing' is very important. There is nothing 'existing' on the Pakistani soil today when the Indian project has already started off the ground. Pakistani wet dreams do not count in this.
India also claims that the waters will ultimately reach Pakistan through Jhelum though not through Kishenganga (Neelum). In the meanwhile, Pakistan has felt the urgency to take up its USD 1.6 Billion Neelum –Jhelum Hydropower Project by appointing a private company, NESPAK, as consultants and complete the international bidding and evaluation by April, 2005. But, nothing has happened on the Pakistani side ever since for reasons of funding and technical assistance. Nobody had been willing to get associated and at last the Chinese came to their rescue but with the abduction of Chinese engineers a few years back, they have made no progress at all.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Pak-China collaboration
Pakistan and China are set to establish a corporation to attract investment for nuclear and coal-based power plants and large dams in the country, sources in the Water and Power Ministry told Daily Times.
Other hydroelectric power projects the corporation would seek funds for include Munda Dam, Kohala Dam and the Neelum-Jehlum Hydropower Project.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Pakistani team to inspect Baglihar
Pakistan has accepted India’s invitation to visit and examine Baglihar Dam, and a delegation will travel to India at the end of October, Aaj TV reported on Saturday.
Pakistan Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah told the channel that the invitation was received by telephone on Friday. He said the Indian Indus Water Commission had been informed that a Pakistani delegation would visit India in the third or fourth week of October.
Shah said that Pakistan had sought a report from India regarding filling, inflow and outflow of water from Baglihar Dam, but the report had not been provided until now. He said he had asked the Indian Indus Water Commission to convene the meeting during the Pakistani delegation’s visit, to discuss the repercussions of this. Shah said Pakistan would demand India compensate the loss of water.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
India must release water from Chenab
Indus Water Commissioner Jamaat Ali Shah said if India continues the alleged violation of the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan would have the option to take the issue to the court of arbitration or to neutral experts. The decision of neutral experts would be acceptable to Pakistan, he said.
"India should concede violations of the Indus Waters Treaty. If they do not accept the violations in the Treaty, then it would be a big setback to Treaty (and give the impression) that India is not serious about implementing the Treaty," Shah told Aaj news channel.
India should release Pakistan's share of river waters as Islamabad has documentary evidence that its due share of water had been "stolen" from the Chenab river, Shah said.
Shah said India's Indus Water Commissioner had, in a recent letter, denied that the country had violated the Treaty. The official also said the water shortage was due to the change of weather.
In the upcoming meeting of the Permanent Commission for Indus Waters, the Indians would be asked how they had recently filled the Baglihar dam, Shah said. "If water is scarce, the Indus Waters Treaty forbids the filling of the reservoir. If they filled their reservoir despite scarcity, this was definitely from Pakistan's share," he added.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Sticking to IWT
Of late, some of water experts and non-governmental organisations have started advocating a review of the entire treaty for two reasons: frequency of Indian violations and introduction of a new phenomenon called climatic effect, which was missing in the early 1960s when it was signed.
This may serve as a trap which must be avoided. It would be a difficult if not an impossible task in the present circumstances to get a better deal, at least if the Baglihar case is anything to go by.
Pakistan has suffered earlier on the Wuller Barrage issue and is suffering on Kishanganga Dam episode, but this should, in no way, be allowed to become reasons to re-negotiate the entire treaty.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Why do our Babus waste our money on providing so much chai biskoots to the Paki "experts"?Pakistan has accepted India’s invitation to visit and examine Baglihar Dam, and a delegation will travel to India at the end of October, Aaj TV reported on Saturday.
Re: Indus Water Treaty
Indian Question
Engineers at Baglihar stressed that under the provisions of the Indus Water Treaty, India has the right to fill the reservoir between June 26 and August 31. “There is no bar on the content of water, they said. “The water from India is stored in Marala Dam in Pakistan and not released directly for irrigation. How is it possible that the dam will dry up in flood season?” said the senior official.