India prepares dams to store more water, lines up multiple actions to choke Pak

NEW DELHI: Limited flushing and desilting of reservoirs of two run-of-the-river hydro-power projects - Baglihar and Salal - on the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir—are being undertaken by India in an immediate move to prepare them for storing and regulating flow of water to Pakistan during the winters. More dams will undergo the process in coming days to ensure better storage in India.The move is part of the country’s detailed roadmap, prepared after suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) following the Pahalgam terror attack last month, to prevent and regulate flow of western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab - to the neighbouring country.Also read: Steps India has taken to batter Pakistan since April 22Flushing is a process to clear sediments from the reservoir by operating it in a particular way using high water flow whereas desilting can be done through dredging to remove large deposited sediment.“Since the Treaty is on pause and there is no obligation to follow its provisions, we may do flushing on any project without any obligation. It will ensure longer effective life of such projects,” Kushvinder Vohra, former chairman, Central Water Commission, told TOI.He said typical projects like Baglihar and Kishanganga with smaller live poundages may complete the flushing process in about one to two days.Also read: Mehbooba Mufti slams closure of tourist spots, detention of locals after Pahalgam attackDesilting/flushing of reservoirs is part of short-term measures under the roadmap whereas expediting under construction hydro-power projects such as Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kiru (624 MW) and Kwar (540 mw) would be the medium-term measure.Curbing flow of nine cusecs of water from Kishanganga as required as per earlier award and using it for production of more power for India would be another measure that can be taken up in short-term, Vohra said.There are four more power projects which are in the pipeline as long-term measures which will make it possible for India to utilise adequate water from the western rivers using accompanying reservoirs. These projects will not only increase India’s hydro-power capacity in Jammu & Kashmir from nearly 4,000 MW to over 10,000 MW but also increase the water storage capacity which can be used in the UT and neighbouring states.Also read: 6 J&K police officers, including Pahalgam SHO, transferred days after terror attackOther measures under the roadmap include taking up Tulbul project on Jhelum which was stalled earlier; works on Wuller lake and Jhelum for better flood management; lift projects which may take comparatively lesser time to use water; and adequate use of existing Ranbir and Pratap canals to ensure more water for Jammu region.“Many other things can also be done which may unfold at an appropriate time,” said Vohra.