The Water Resources Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Javed Ahmed Rana, has stated that the Shahpur Kandi dam on the border of the UT and Punjab would be completed by March 31. When put into operation, the dam will avoid too much water flowing into Pakistan through the Ravi river, which is going to improve the management of water to the drought-prone regions such as Kathua and Samba districts. Yes, we will stop excess water to Pakistan. It must be halted, Rana said in an interview with TV, and the project was of priority to the Kandi region.
The announcement comes after a few steps by the Indian government since the terror attack that happened on April 22, in Pahalgam in which 25 tourists and a local guide died. The PM Narendra Modi had declared measures against Islamabad such as freezing Indus waters treaty of 1960 and speeding up hydroelectric and water management projects in Jammu in order to make the best use of the river waters.
A national project, the Shahur Kandi barrage was revised after a period of forty years with the intervention of PM Modi. In addition to this, four hydel power projects have been progressing steadily on the Chenab river in India, which should be commissioned by 2027-28.
India was allocated the eastern rivers, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, under the Indus Waters Treaty, which was brokered by the World Bank: Pakistan was given the western rivers, with India having a limited non-consumptive usage of the rivers. The Shahpur Kandi project approved by the Union Cabinet in 2018 got a central aid of ₹485.38 crore on the irrigation aspect. By the time of its completion, the project will generate irrigation potential on a 32,173 hectares area in Kathua and Samba districts of J&K and 5,000 hectares area in Punjab, which will greatly enhance agriculture and water management in the area.
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