• Flows at Marala rise to 28,300 cusecs
• Former Indus Water Commissioner says India’s actions violate the Indus Waters Treaty and the neutral expert’s decision on Baglihar
LAHORE: The flow of water in the River Chenab saw a significant improvement on Tuesday, just a day after it dwindled to a near halt. This change occurred after India seemingly yielded to international pressure regarding its unlawful act of halting the river’s flow into Pakistan.
Following its unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, India had drastically reduced the water flows in the Chenab, dropping from 34,000 cusecs on Sunday to a mere 3,000 cusecs by Monday.
However, by Tuesday, the situation began to improve, with inflows at Marala reaching 28,300 cusecs.
A senior official, speaking to Dawn, explained, “The situation began improving on Tuesday with India releasing water downstream. We hope the flows will continue to rise if India does not halt them again.”
A report from the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) stated that the inflows and outflows at Marala were recorded at 28,300 cusecs and 19,100 cusecs, respectively.
At the same time, the inflows from the Indus River at Tarbela were measured at 95,300 cusecs, with outflows at 50,000 cusecs. River Kabul at Nowshera saw an inflow of 37,000 cusecs, while River Jhelum at Mangla had inflows of 43,500 cusecs, with outflows of 32,000 cusecs.
In terms of storage, the water level in Tarbela Dam stood at 1,444.30 feet, with live storage of 0.902 MAF (million acre-feet) on Tuesday. Mangla Dam’s current water level is 1,137 feet, with live storage of 1.235 MAF. The Chashma reservoir recorded a live storage of 0.208 MAF, with a water level of 646.90 feet.
International Pressure on India
A senior government official, who chose to remain anonymous, suggested that the reversal in water flow came after significant international pressure on India.
“All of India’s hydroelectric projects in the Chenab Basin are run-of-the-river, which means the reservoirs are designed only for power generation. These reservoirs cannot hold water for more than 36 hours. The fact that water was released the very next day indicates that international pressure played a role,” the official explained. “I don’t believe India will repeat this action in the future,” the official added.
The official also mentioned that Pakistan’s relevant government departments are closely monitoring the river flows during this period.
Speaking to Dawn, former Pakistan Indus Waters Commissioner Syed Jamat Ali Shah called India’s suspension of the Chenab’s flows a violation of the Indus Waters Treaty and the decision made by the neutral expert regarding the Baglihar Dam.
“The neutral expert had ruled that maintaining the Baglihar Dam was necessary due to the significant silt deposition in the dam from river water. This dam is for power generation, not water storage. According to the verdict, the silt can only be flushed out when flows at the Baglihar are at 70,000 cusecs, which generally happens only during the monsoon season,” Shah explained.
He further noted that India appeared to have released water to flush out the silt by opening the spillways, and then closed them to begin filling the dam.
