Srinagar:
India crossed the first tangible stage in violation of the 1960s Water Water Treaty (IWT), while the authorities began to stimulate the reservoir capacity of tanks in two hydroelectric projects in Jammu and the Kashmir of Indian origin (IIOJK), Reuters told Reuters.
A “tank rinsing” process to eliminate sediments started on Thursday, carried out by India’s largest hydroelectric company, the NHPC LTD managed by the State, and the competent authorities, said the three sources, adding that the work would not immediately threaten Pakistan’s offer, but this could in the long term.
India suspended the IWT – which guarantees the offer of 80% of Pakistani farms – after the murder of 26 people in the Pahalgam tourist resort of IIOJK last month. Without giving any evidence, India blamed Pakistan for the attack, triggering increased tensions between the two countries.
Pakistan, which denied any role in Pahalgam’s attack, threatened international legal action on the suspension of the IWT and warned: “Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan … will be considered an act of war”.
According to sources, India has not informed Pakistan about the work of the Salal and Baglihar projects, which was carried out for the first time since the construction of projects in 1987 and 2008-2009, respectively, because ITP had blocked such work, the sources said.
The tank rinsing process initially leads to waters loaded with sediment released downstream of the tanks, potentially causing a sudden flood, followed by a reduced water flow because the tanks are filled, according to the sources.
They said work may not immediately threaten Pakistan’s offer, but it could possibly be affected if other dams launched similar efforts. There are more than half a dozen of these projects in the occupied region.
The rinsing operation took place for three days from May 1, one of the sources in Reuters told. “We were also asked to open the adjustable doors for cleaning, which we did from May 1,” said the source, adding that the effort aimed to release the operations of the dams of any restriction.
“This is the first time that such an exercise has occurred and will help more efficient energy production and prevent turbine damage,” said the source. The inhabitants, living on the banks of the Chenab river, also confirmed that the water had been released from the dams of Salal and Baglihar from Thursday to Saturday.
The rinsing of hydroelectric projects almost requires emptying a reservoir to force sediments, of which accumulation is a major cause of the drop in production. “Rinse is not a common thing because it leads to a lot of water waste,” said one of the sources.
Two of the sources said that the power delivered by the Salal project of 690 megawatts was well below its capacity, because Pakistan had prevented such rinse, while the accumulation of silt also assigned production to the 900 MW Baglihar project.
“Downstream countries were to be informed in case it leads to a flood,” said the source, as under TFI, India had to share data such as hydrological flows in various places crossing India and issuing flood warnings.
Government representatives and experts on both sides say that India cannot, however, stop water flows immediately, because TFI only made it possible to build so -called standard hydroelectric power plants, which do not require significant storage dams, on the three rivers allocated to Pakistan.
The IWT suspension means that India “can now continue our projects in free will,” said Kushvinder Vohra, a recently retired chief of the India Central Water Commission who worked a lot on Industry disputes with Pakistan.
