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India has stopped the water flowing from Ravi river to Pakistan, which has increased the problems of Pakistan, which is already facing economic crisis. India was building a dam on the Ravi River for about 45 years, which has been completed and now the water of the Ravi River cannot reach Pakistan. Let us tell you that India has exclusive rights over the waters of Ravi under the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960 under the auspices of the World Bank. Shahpur Kandi Barrage, located in Pathankot district of Punjab, was closed due to the civil dispute between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. But due to this, for years a large part of India's water was going to Pakistan.
India has rights over water
Under the Indus Water Treaty, India has full rights over the waters of Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, while Pakistan has rights over the waters of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. In 1979, the governments of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir signed an agreement to construct the Ranjit Sagar Dam and the downstream Shahpur Kandi Barrage to prevent water from flowing into Pakistan. This agreement was signed by the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal.
There were obstacles in the construction work of the dam.
Then in 1982, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi laid the foundation stone of this project, which was expected to be completed by 1998. When construction of the Ranjit Sagar Dam was completed in 2001, the Shahpur Kandi Barrage could not be built and the water of the Ravi River continued to flow into Pakistan. Later in the year 2008, Shahpur Kandi project was declared a national project but the construction work started in 2013. The irony of all this is that in 2014 the project came to a halt again due to the dispute between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Now three states will benefit from Ravi water
Finally, in the year 2018, the Central Government mediated and an agreement was reached between the two states, after which the work could be resumed and now finally the construction of the dam has been completed some time ago and now the dam is ready. The water which was going to Pakistan will now be used to irrigate Kathua and Samba, two major districts of Jammu and Kashmir. 1150 cusecs of water will now irrigate 32,000 hectares of land in the Union Territory and Jammu and Kashmir will also be able to get 20 percent of the hydroelectric power generated from the dam.
Let us tell you that the 55.5 meter high Shahpurkandi Dam is part of a multi-purpose river valley project which includes two hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of 206 MW. It is built on the Ravi River, 11 km downstream from the Ranjit Sagar Dam Project. Apart from Jammu and Kashmir, the water of the dam will also help Punjab and Rajasthan.