India has begun to expand the reservoir holding capacity at two hydroelectric dams in the Himalayan region of Kashmir after a water-sharing arrangement was suspended due to heightened tensions with Pakistan.
Despite three wars and numerous more confrontations between the nuclear-armed foes, the effort is the first concrete step taken by India to operate outside of the agreements protected by the Indus Waters Treaty, which has been intact since 1960.
However, following an incident in Kashmir that claimed 26 lives and revealed two of the three attackers to be Pakistanis, New Delhi halted the agreement that guarantees supply to 80% of Pakistani farms last month.
Islamabad asserted that “any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan… will be considered as an act of war” and denied any involvement in the attack, threatening international legal action over the suspension.
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According to the three sources, India’s largest hydroelectric company, state-run NHPC Ltd (NHPC.NS), opened a new tab, while authorities in the federal area of Jammu and Kashmir started a “reservoir flushing” process to remove sediment on Thursday.
Pakistan, which depends on rivers that run through India for a large portion of its irrigation and energy, may not be immediately threatened by the construction, but it may be in the future if other projects start similar initiatives.
In the area, there are over six of these initiatives.
The sources claimed that because the convention banned similar work, India failed to notify Pakistan about the work being done at the Salal and Baglihar systems, which are being done for the first time since they were constructed in 1987 and 2008/09, independently.
They weren’t authorized to speak to the media, so they talked under the condition of obscurity.
When Reuters posted the NHPC in India and the neighboring countries to request comment, they did n’t respond.
In addition to other minor skirmishes, India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since gaining independence from British social authority in 1947 over Kashmir.
