India has begun to work to boost the retention capacity of the deposit in two hydroelectric projects in the Kashmir occupied by India, according to the sources with knowledge of the matter. ReutersAfter a new climbing with Pakistan, he led him to suspend the Treaty of the Water of the Indo.
The tensions between the two countries have shot after the April 22 attack in the pahalgama of busy Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, marking one of the most mortal assaults in the region since 2000. India has implied cross -border links without evidence, while Pakistan rejected the allegation and requested a neutral problem.
A “reservoir” discharge process to eliminate the sediment began on Thursday, carried out by the largest hydroelectric company in India, the state NHPC and the authorities in the Kashmir occupied by India, the three sources said, according to Reuters
They spoke on condition of anonymity, since they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The work may not immediately threaten the supply of Pakistan, which depends on rivers that flow through India during much of its irrigation and hydroelectric, but it could eventually be affected if other projects launch similar efforts.
There are more than half a dozen such projects in the region.
India did not inform Pakistan about work in the projects of Salal and Baglihar, which is being done for the first time since they were built in 1987 and 2008-2009, respectively, since the treaty had blocked said work, the sources added.
NHPC of India and neighboring governments did not respond to the emails of Reuters Find comments.
The discharge operation worked for three days from May 1, the sources said.
“This is the first time that an exercise of this type is performed and will help a more efficient generation of energy and avoid damage to the turbines,” said one of the sources. Reuters
“We were also asked to open the adjustable doors for cleaning, what we did from May 1,” said the source, added that the effort was aimed at releasing the operation of the dam from any restriction.
People who live on the banks of the Chenab River in the Kashmir occupied by India said they noticed that the water had been released from the salaral and baglihar dams from Thursday to Saturday.
Separately, Press Trust of India He published a video in his account X informing that India has restricted the flow of water through the Balighar dam on the Chenab River.
‘Treaty suspension means free will’
The rinse of hydroelectric projects requires almost emptying a deposit to expel sediments whose accumulation is an important cause of decrease in production.
For example, two of the sources said that the power delivered by the salary project of 690 megawatts was well below its capacity, because Pakistan had avoided that discharge, while the sediment also reached production in the 900 MW Baglihar project.
“Flushing is not common because it leads to a lot of water waste,” said one of the sources. “The downstream countries are expected to be informed in case it leads to any flood.”
The construction of both projects had required extensive round trip with Pakistan, which cares about losing their water share.
Under the 1960 treaty, which divided the Indo and its tributaries among the neighbors, India had also shared data such as hydrological flows at various points in the rivers that flow through India and issued flood warnings.
The Water Minister of India has promised “to ensure that no drop of the water of the Indo River arrives in Pakistan.”
Government and expert officials on both sides say that India cannot stop water flows immediately. The treaty has only allowed to build hydroelectric plants without significant storage dams in the three rivers assigned to Pakistan.
The suspension means that India “can now follow our projects for free will,” said Kushvater Vohra, a recently retired boss from the Central Water Commission of India who worked in Indo disputes with Pakistan.
The government of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has tried to renegotiate the treaty in recent years, and the two countries have tried to resolve some of their differences in the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague.
These concerns are related to the size of the water storage area in the hydroelectric plants of Kishenguanga and rats of the region.
