India has extensive plans to completely stop the flow of water to Pakistan after suspending the Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam terror attack in April.
India suspended the Indus Water Treaty after the heinous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, and now the Indian government has devised a complete plan which would bring Pakistan to its knees in the coming months, if not days. As per reports, Pakistan is already facing water troubles in the Kharif season due to low water levels in its dams fueled by the Indus River, but the situation is about to get worse at the Narendra Modi government has foolproof plans are in place in to restrict water from the Indus, Sutlej and Beas rivers to the enemy country.
How India plans to use water to destroy Pakistan?
According to reports, the Indian government plans to optimize the use of the Indus river system through inter-basin water transfer, which includes the construction of a 113-km-long canal to divert excess water from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Additionally, the strategy also involves flushing and desilting of reservoirs at two run-of-the-river hydropower facilities on the Chenab River – Baglihar and Salal, while long-term plans includes accelerating ongoing hydropower projects such as Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kiru (624 MW) and Kwar (540 MW) to utilize more water from the Indus River system.
Apart from short-term initiatives, India is also working on a comprehensive plan for inter-basin water transfer, starting with a feasibility assessment for a 113-km-long canal to redirect excess water from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, according to a report by the Times of India.
The proposed canal will link Chenab with Ravi-Beas-Sutlej, ensuring optimum utilization of the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas and Sutlej), and also enable India to completely utilize its allotted share of the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum and Chenab) under the Indus Water Treaty, prevent the flow of excess water to Pakistan, the report said.
As per the TOI report, the proposed Chenab-Ravi-Beas-Sutlej link will be integrated with existing canal infrastructure at 13 points in Jammu, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, eventually connecting with the Indira Gandhi Canal (Sutlej-Beas). Recently, Home Minister Amit Shah announced Indus river water will reach Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan through canals ‘within three years’, which will benefit vast agricultural areas, while limiting Indus water access to Pakistan.
Ranbir Canal to be doubled in length
According to the reports, there is also a proposal to double the existing length of the Ranbir Canal, from 60 km to 120 km, which draws water from the Chenab River, while a feasibility report is awaited to utilize the Pratap Canal to its full potential, according to officials.
Further, there are also plans to restart the Ujh multipurpose project in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, which includes hydropower generation, irrigation, and providing drinking water, and is aimed at maximizing India’s share of water from the Eastern Rivers under the Indus Waters Treaty.
The plan involves integrating the Ravi-Beas connection below Ujh– which was earlier purposed to collect surplus water flowing to Pakistan through the Ravi through barrage construction– into the broader inter-basin water transfer initiative, enabling diversion of water into Beas basin via a tunnel, as per the TOI report.
Water reaches ‘dead’ level in Pakistani rivers
The effects of India’s measures to curb Indus waters is already being seen in Pakistan’s rivers, many of which are witnessing ‘dead’ levels as western rivers flowing through India, including the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum, have depleted considerably.
Pakistan has been forced to release more water from its dams to meet its irrigation and drinking water needs, and while this is common in the pre-monsoon season, the situation could worsen in coming days as India India regularly desilts and drains water from dams in Jammu and Kashmir to increase storage capacity.
According to reports, water levels in key dams in Pakistan, including the Mangla on the Jhelum river and Tarbela on the Indus river – have already reached close to their respective ‘dead levels’ (the point beyond which gravity cannot drain water from reservoirs) ahead of monsoon, which likely to reach Pakistan in a month.
What options does Pakistan have?
Realistically, Pakistan is quickly running out of options as further reduction in water flow from the Indian side will leave the enemy country with tough choices to facilitate agricultural operations before monsoon arrives. While conditions are expected to improve upon the arrival of monsoon in Pakistan next month, yet authorities will face a major challenge to manage regular water discharge without water flow data from India after the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty.
Notably, Pakistan has written four letters to India, pleading New Delhi to restore the Indus Water Treaty. However, India has clearly stated the treaty will continue to be held in abeyance till Pakistan takes visible, concrete action against terrorism.
