New Delhi: A day after Operation Sindoor, India on Thursday opened two gates at the Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project in Ramban and three gates at the Salal Dam in Reasi, raising fears of possible flooding in downstream areas of Pakistan.
According to reports, it was meant to regulate rising water levels caused by heavy downpour in Ramban district, which also witnessed flash flood, as well as to manage dam pressure. With the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, the gates, however, were opened without formally notifying Pakistan.
This came days after the flushing and closure of the two dams on the Chenab, coinciding with the crucial kharif season, triggered panic in Pakistan. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) had closed all gates at the Baglihar and Salal dams on Monday. This unilateral regulation of water flow to Pakistan, as a part of military as well as diplomatic steps in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, had led to a sharp drop in the Chenab’s water levels.
The Chenab, a tributary of the Indus, is one of the “western rivers” primarily allocated to Pakistan under the World Bank-brokered pact and is vital for its agriculture, particularly in the Punjab province.
