India does not get enough water from the three rivers Ravi, Beas and Sutlej as much as Pakistan is getting from Indus , Chenab and Jehlum and whatever share under the Indus Waters Treaty it gets , it does not utilise the whole and lot of water from these rivers flows down to Pakistan . This has been going on for decades together especially after the two countries under the supervision of the World Bank signed an agreement in the year 1960. Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari has reportedly tweeted that this share of unutilised water was henceforth going to be stopped by India from flowing to Pakistan .
It will not be out of place to mention that this decision has been taken as responding to home demands and requirements for water less as compared to a fallout of the dastardly attack on our travelling CRPF personnel on February 14 at Lethpora Pulwama in Kashmir valley. Agreed, that its very immediate impact may not be felt by Pakistan as the process of implementation of the decision of the government required necessary construction of dams , barrages and small canals as the natural corollary to stop the flow would mean holding or depositing the water and using it as per our convenience but the mere message of stopping the water from our share must rattle the Pakistani establishment since Pakistan otherwise is reeling under severe water crisis.
The readers may note that the decision taken by the Government is not spontaneous as Modi Government had been even mooting the possibility of harnessing the unutilised water for our own use especially to irrigate our own lands in Jammu region as also divert the water to Punjab, Haryana and Delhi states. It is reliably learnt that notwithstanding the Pulwama terror attack , a decision to this effect was in fact taken by the Government two months back .It at the same time did not amount to committing of any breach or violation of any provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty. The move should be seen as aimed at getting the rightful due to our own people. A period of at least six years minimum was required to build dams to gain access to the cut down water.
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