India blocks water flow to Pakistan through Baglihar dam on Chenab river

New Delhi (India) May 6: According to a National Hydroelectric Power Corporation official on Sunday, India started de-silting operations in the Baglihar dam and lowered sluice gates after a week of talks and hydrological testing. This reduced downstream flow to Pakistan by up to 90%. Similar operations have been planned for the Kishanganga dam.

“We have closed the gates of the Baglihar hydel power project. We had done de-silting of the reservoir and it has to be refilled. The process was started on Saturday,” said a second official, who declined to be named.

India's measures, which included prohibiting the arrival of ships flying the Pakistani flag in all of the nation's ports, were taken just hours after Pakistan tested its surface-to-surface ballistic missile on Saturday.

All downstream flow from the Kishanganga dam, the first mega hydroelectric facility in the Gurez valley in the northwestern Himalayas, would be stopped "very soon" as part of significant maintenance work. Both of these dams' designs have drawn criticism from Pakistan.

A day after terrorists killed 26 tourists in Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, India paused the six-decade-old Indus water deal with Pakistan, which is already tense due to long-standing tensions.

The spokesperson for Pakistan’s Indus River System Authority has said that since Sunday morning, about 90% less water than usual has been flowing into Pakistan.

Pakistan had objected to the Kishenganga and Ratle projects, claiming that their plans were in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty. The Ratle power plant near Drabshalla in Kishtwar was inspected in June 2024 by a five-member Pakistani group led by Michel Lino, a neutral expert assigned by the World Bank.

Since Sunday morning, approximately 90% less water has been entering Pakistan than usual, according to Muhammad Khalid Idrees Rana, spokesman for the country's Indus River System Authority, as reported by Bloomberg. He went on to say that Pakistan might have to reduce the supply of water to its agriculture by 20% if the water flow continues to be this low.

On Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police issued a warning to the public not to cross the Chenab River in the Akhnoor neighbourhood of Jammu. Hundreds of residents had come since the river's water level had fallen to an extremely low level. A number of people were spotted searching for money, gold, and silver jewellery. According to officials, the reason the water level dropped was because all of the gates of the Baglihar and Salal dams were closed to allow the river to flow more freely and refill the reservoirs.

-Aadrika Tayal