Pakistan's Chenab River Shrinks as India Blocks Dams in Jammu and Kashmir

The Chenab River, which flows from India to Pakistan, has become much shallower after Indian authorities closed the floodgates on dams in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir due to tensions between Delhi and Islamabad, Interfax reports, citing The Times of India.

According to sources, authorities have closed all the sluice gates at Baglihar Dam and Salal Dam on Chenab, effectively stopping the flow of the river. The water level has dropped to an unprecedented level, and people in downstream areas are able to cross the river on foot for the first time.

In turn, the Dawn publication notes that the volume of water that the Chenab brings to the Pakistani province of Punjab has already dropped almost tenfold on Monday.

"The Indian authorities have effectively blocked the flow of the Chenab river towards Pakistan after they took this decision on Sunday (…) now they are using our water for their reservoirs, hydro projects in the Chenab basin. They cannot do this because it is a serious violation of the Indus Water Treaty," a senior official of the Punjab Irrigation Department told the publication.

He said the Chenab waters were very important for the irrigation system of Punjab, adding that if the Indian authorities suddenly released water through the sluice gates, there would be a threat of flooding for people living downstream.

The day before, Hindustan Times reported that India had stopped water supply to Pakistan through the Baglihar Dam located on the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir.

On April 22, a group of militants opened fire on people in a tourist hotspot in the northern Indian city of Pahalgam. According to the latest reports, 26 people were killed in the attack. This led to a sharp deterioration in relations between India and Pakistan. In particular, the Indian authorities suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, which regulates the use of a number of rivers by both countries. Since then, there have been repeated reports of gunfire in several areas along the Line of Control, the demarcation line between India and Pakistan.