The flow of water to Pakistan from the Lakhanpur Dam has been stopped in India with immediate effect. This is a warning sign for Pakistan regarding the water resources flowing towards Pakistan from India. However, India has all the rights on the Ravi River and has been allowing the flow of water to Pakistan till now.
This move comes after the completion of the construction of the Shahpur Khandi barrage which will benefit the purpose of irrigation. We have provided all the information about the stoppage of water resources to Pakistan and benefits to India
Ravi River:
Reports claim the flow of Ravi river water through Lakhanpur Dam has been stopped immediately. The flow has been stopped after the completion of the construction of the Shahpur Khandi barrage. This Shahpur Khandi barrage has been constructed on the border of Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
The Lakhanpur Dam has a total flow of 1150 cusecs of water which will now benefit the irrigation in India. The water will support 32,000 hectares of irrigation land in Kathua and Samba districts of J&K. The Shahpur Khandi barrage has been constructed for irrigation and hydropower purposes which has faced several challenges over the decades.
Indus Water Treaty 1960:
The agreement of the Indus Water Treaty 1960, provides India with total rights to the Ravi River, Sutlej and Beas rivers while Pakistan has rights over Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers.
However, India has been allowing the flow of Ravi-river water through Lakhanpur Dam to Pakistan till now as there is no resource for its utilization. Even the construction of Shahpur Khandi has faced challenges from the governments of Punjab and J&K. Though the foundation stone for Shahpur barrage was laid in 1995 by former PM P.V Narasimha Rao, the project construction was stopped for almost 4 ½ years due to disputes from governments.
India has built many projects on the rivers of Sutlej and Beas rivers which utilized 95% of water resources while the Ravi water has been allowed to flow towards Pakistan as there was no source for utilization. Now the construction of the Shahpur Khandi barrage is mostly completed and set to utilize the water only in India.
Dispute Between Punjav And J&K:
The dispute between Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir came to light in 2014. In 2014 Punjab decided to quit the sharing of water resources with the J&K. This is due to J&K’s inactive participation and support towards the project.
The majority of the Shahpur Khand project lies in J&K with 35,000 hectares of land out of 40,000 hectares of land that is utilized for the project. In 2014 Punjab decided to halt the project blaming the J&K government for inactive participation in construction by saying J&K was a riparian state since Ravi flows from hill state into Punjab.
They have looked for resolutions about the same but did not finalize and cancel the project alongside the Terminating Agreement Act 2004. However, in 2018 a formal agreement was made to resume the Shahpur Khandi barrage with the support of the centre and look after the progress regularly. Here the centre has also provided the majority of funds for the construction of the barrage.
Conclusion:
The complete utilization of Ravi-river water will boost the agricultural sector and other projects linked to Ravi-river water. The project was initially planned to start the construction in 1992 and complete in 2002 but things did not go as planned. The land acquisition, funding issues and environmental concerns.
After a long wait, the project was completed in 2022 providing an opportunity to utilize the total amount of Ravi-river water, which is India’s right of Indus Water Treaty 1960. After many negotiations about funding and agreements, the project was completed in 2022.
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