India plans to take advantage of the opportunity to suspend the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty to flush sediment and expand canals.
Reuters and The Indian Express reported on May 16 that India plans to take advantage of the opportunity to suspend the implementation of the Indus Waters Treaty to flush sediment and expand canals, thereby reducing water supply to Pakistan. India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960, stipulating that India can use the "eastern rivers" - Sutlej River (Sutlej), Beas River (Beas), Ravi River (Ravi) without restriction, while Pakistan can obtain water resources from the "western rivers" - Chenab River (Chenab River), Jhelum River (Jhelum River), Indus River (Indus River), which are crucial for Pakistan's agriculture and power production. The treaty also states that any new construction projects by India on the "western rivers" must notify Pakistan six months in advance, and if Pakistan objects, they need to pause and reconsider.
Currently, India is handling short-term and medium-to-long-term retaliatory plans against Pakistan. First, it is restoring the drainage flushing work of dams on the "western rivers" and making it a monthly routine activity, while neither sharing hydrological data with Pakistan nor notifying related drainage work. It was reported that India's National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the Indian-administered Kashmir government began flushing sediment work at the Salal Reservoir and Baglihar Reservoir in the Chenab River Basin early this month. For this reason, Pakistan has long opposed the flushing project because the drainage will temporarily increase the downstream water volume, and after closing the sluice gates after flushing, the reservoir replenishment will reduce the amount of water obtained by Pakistan, which is not conducive to stable water use by Pakistan.
Secondly, it is accelerating the expansion of canals and hydropower projects on the "western rivers", which were previously shelved due to Pakistan's opposition. The projects include: doubling the length of the Lambi Canal in the Chenab River Basin to 120 kilometers (after the canal expansion, the flow rate per second can increase from about 40 cubic meters to 150 cubic meters), Pakal Dul Hydropower Station (installed capacity 1 million kilowatts), Kiru Hydropower Station (624,000 kilowatts), Kwar Hydropower Station (540,000 kilowatts), Ratle Hydropower Station (850,000 kilowatts). It is reported that India plans to increase the hydropower generation capacity in the Indian-administered Kashmir region from the current 3.36 million kilowatt-hours to 12 million kilowatt-hours.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832502093414601/
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