India stopped the water of Ravi river
India has stopped the water flowing from Ravi river to Pakistan, this will further increase the problems of Pakistan, which is already facing economic crisis. India was building a dam on the Ravi River for about 45 years, which has been completed and now the water of the Ravi River will not be able to reach Pakistan. Let us tell you that under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960 under the supervision of the World Bank, India has exclusive rights over the waters of Ravi. Shahpur Kandi Barrage located in Pathankot district of Punjab was halted due to the domestic dispute between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. But due to this, a large part of India’s water used to go to Pakistan over the years.
India has rights on water
Under the Indus Water Treaty, India has full rights over the waters of Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, while Pakistan has rights over the waters of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. In 1979, the governments of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir signed an agreement to build the Ranjit Sagar Dam and the downstream Shahpur Kandi Barrage to stop water from flowing to Pakistan. The agreement was signed by the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal.
Obstacles encountered in the construction work of the dam
Then in 1982, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi laid the foundation of the project, which was expected to be completed by 1998. While construction of the Ranjit Sagar Dam was completed in 2001, the Shahpur Kandi Barrage could not be built and the water of the Ravi River continued to flow into Pakistan. Then in the year 2008, Shahpur Kandi project was declared a national project but the construction work started in 2013. The irony of all this is that in 2014 the project was again stalled due to disputes between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Now three states will benefit from Ravi water
Finally, in the year 2018, the Central Government mediated and made an agreement between the two states, then the work could be done again and now some time ago, the work of building the dam was finally finished and now the dam is ready. The water which was going to Pakistan will now be used to irrigate two major districts of Jammu and Kashmir – Kathua and Samba. 1150 cusecs of water will now irrigate 32,000 hectares of land in the Union Territory and Jammu and Kashmir will also be able to get 20 percent of the hydroelectric power generated from the dam.
Let us tell you that the 55.5 meter high Shahpurkandi Dam is part of a multi-purpose river valley project which includes two hydro power projects with a total installed capacity of 206 MW. It is built on the Ravi River, 11 km downstream from the Ranjit Sagar Dam Project. Apart from Jammu and Kashmir, the water of the dam will also help Punjab and Rajasthan.
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