India has started working on key hydro projects in Jammu and Kashmir, aiming to boost reservoir capacity at the Salal and Baglihar dams.
This move comes just weeks after India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following a deadly terror attack in Kashmir that left 26 dead. Two of the attackers were identified as Pakistani nationals, pushing India to take action not just militarily, but hydrologically.
What does this mean for the average Indian?
It means India is reclaiming control over its own rivers—especially those flowing through Jammu and Kashmir. For decades, the Indus Waters Treaty restricted India from doing basic upkeep like reservoir flushing. The result? Sediment build-up, reduced power generation, and a bizarre situation where Indian engineers needed to ask Pakistan before cleaning their own turbines.
This week, that changed.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the flushing process began on May 1 and continued for three days. Water was released downstream from both dams for sediment removal—a process that hadn’t been allowed since the Salal dam was built in 1987 and Baglihar in 2008.
#WATCH | Jammu and Kashmir: Latest visuals from Reasi, where all gates of Salal Dam on Chenab River are closed. pic.twitter.com/rqaimJ0mq6
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2025
India moves with purpose—and free will
Pakistan, of course, responded with threats of legal action and even warned that any attempt to block its water would be seen as “an act of war.”
Let’s be clear: no one’s turning off rivers overnight. But India is now operating without being second-guessed at every step. Kushvinder Vohra, former head of India’s Central Water Commission, summed it up: “We can now pursue our projects at free will.”
That’s not provocation. That’s freedom of maintenance.
What changed? Terror, treaties, and turbines
The trigger was the April attack in Kashmir. After years of stalled negotiations and stonewalling at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, India finally acted. The 1960 treaty had allowed India to build hydro projects, but with no significant storage or sediment control.
That meant power output dropped, even though the Salal plant can generate 690 MW and Baglihar over 900 MW. Sediment choked the system. And while Pakistan watered its fields, India’s turbines sputtered.
Now, engineers have opened adjustable gates to clean them out. It’s a technical move with massive political weight.
#WATCH | Jammu and Kashmir: The Chenab River witnessed a significant drop in water levels in the Reasi district after the closure of gates at the Salal Dam. pic.twitter.com/FITFjKxc8F
— ANI (@ANI) May 5, 2025
Pakistan got the water, India got the paperwork
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, India had to share data, issue flood warnings, and even ask for clearance on dam maintenance. But Pakistan refused to accept changes or even discuss disputes fairly. India played by the rules for 64 years—until those rules became a trap.
As one local on the banks of the Chenab told local media: “We saw water levels rise suddenly for a few days, but it’s nothing dangerous. It’s maintenance, not menace.”
What’s next?
India has more than half a dozen hydro projects in the pipeline. With the treaty now on pause, expect similar flushing operations and perhaps new projects that weren’t feasible under old restrictions.
More importantly, India has signaled that terrorism will have consequences, not just in diplomatic halls or at the border, but in the flow of every drop of river water.
After decades of patience, India is not stopping water—it’s stopping the nonsense.
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