According to the report, the Ravi water flow has entirely ceased following India's building of a barrage
Learn about India's completion of the Shahpur Kandi barrage, stopping water flow to Pakistan from the Ravi River. Explore its significance and implications for the region.
India has halted the flow of water from the Ravi River to Pakistan with the completion of the Shahpur Kandi barrage, situated on the border of Punjab and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), as reported by The News citing the Times of India.
According to media sources referenced by the Indian publication, the 1,150 cusecs of water previously allocated to Pakistan will now be redirected for use in the IIOJK region, facilitating irrigation across more than 32,000 hectares of land in Samba and Kathua districts.
The Shahpur Kandi barrage project, which holds crucial significance for irrigation and hydropower generation, has encountered numerous challenges over the past three decades. However, it is now on the brink of completion.
Reports suggest that under the Indus Water Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, New Delhi retains exclusive rights over the waters of the Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas rivers, while Pakistan has control over the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers.
The completion of the Shahpur Kandi barrage enables India to maximize the utilization of the Ravi River's water resources, redirecting the flow that previously reached Pakistan from the old Lakhanpur dam to now benefit IIOJK and India's Punjab region.
India has already developed several storage facilities, including the Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej, Pong, and Pandoh Dam on the Beas, and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on the Ravi. These projects, coupled with initiatives like the Beas-Sutlej link and the Indira Gandhi Nahar Project, have allowed India to utilize nearly its entire share (95%) of the waters from the eastern rivers.
Nevertheless, media reports indicate that approximately two million acre-feet of water from the Ravi River continues to flow unused to Pakistan below Madhopur.
With the completion of the Shahpur Kandi barrage, India can now harness the water resources from the Ravi River to cater to its own needs and development, as per the reports.
