Exclusive-India starts work on hydro projects after suspending treaty with Pakistan, sources say

Aftab Ahmed, Sarita Chaganti Singh and Krishna N. Das

Sun, May 4, 2025, 10:10 PM 4 min read

By Aftab Ahmed, Sarita Chaganti Singh and Krishna N. Das

SRINAGAR (Reuters) - India has begun enactment to boost reservoir holding capableness astatine 2 hydroelectric projects successful the Himalayan portion of Kashmir, sources with cognition of the substance told Reuters, aft caller hostility with Pakistan led it to suspend a water-sharing pact.

Last month, New Delhi suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty betwixt the nuclear-armed rivals that ensures proviso to 80% of Pakistani farms aft an onslaught successful Kashmir killed 26, and it identified 2 of the 3 assailants arsenic Pakistani.

Islamabad has threatened planetary ineligible enactment implicit the suspension and denied immoderate relation successful the attack, warning, "Any effort to halt oregon divert the travel of h2o belonging to Pakistan ... volition beryllium considered arsenic an enactment of war".

A "reservoir flushing" process to region sediment began connected Thursday, carried retired by India's biggest hydropower company, state-run NHPC Ltd, and authorities successful the national territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the 3 sources said.

The enactment whitethorn not instantly endanger proviso to Pakistan, which depends connected rivers flowing done India for overmuch of its irrigation and hydropower generation, but it could yet beryllium affected if different projects motorboat akin efforts.

There are much than fractional a twelve specified projects successful the region.

India did not pass Pakistan astir the enactment astatine the Salal and Baglihar projects, which is being done for the archetypal clip since they were built successful 1987 and 2008/09, respectively, arsenic the pact had blocked specified work, the sources added.

They spoke connected information of anonymity arsenic they were not authorised to speech to the media.

India's NHPC and the neighbouring governments did not reply to emails from Reuters to question comment.

Since independency from British assemblage regularisation successful 1947, India and Pakistan person fought 2 of their 3 wars implicit Kashmir, successful summation to galore abbreviated conflicts.

The flushing cognition ran for 3 days from May 1, the sources said.

"This is the archetypal clip specified an workout has taken spot and volition assistance successful much businesslike powerfulness procreation and forestall harm to turbines," 1 of the sources told Reuters.

"We were besides asked to unfastened the adjustable gates for cleaning, which we did from May 1," the root said, adding that the effort aimed to escaped dam cognition from immoderate restrictions.

People surviving connected the banks of the Chenab stream connected the Indian broadside of Kashmir said they noticed h2o had been released from some Salal and Baglihar dams from Thursday to Saturday.

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