Post Pulwama attack, India decides to stop its share of water flowing to Pakistan

In a major step taken to corner Pakistan after the Pulwama attack, Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said India will stop its share of water of three rivers which used to flow to the neighbouring country.

Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said water of three rivers flowing into Pakistan, over which India has full rights under the Indus Water Treaty, will be diverted to Yamuna river

NEW DELHI: In a major step taken to corner Pakistan after the gruesome Pulwama attack, Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said India will stop its share of water from three eastern rivers, Beas, Sutlej and Ravi, which used to flow to the neighbouring country. He said the water, over which India has full rights under the Indus Water Treaty, will now be diverted and used for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our government has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab," Gadkari said. "The construction of a dam has started at Shahpur-Kandi on Ravi river. Moreover, the UJH project will store our share of water for use in Jammu and Kashmir and the balance water will flow from the second Ravi-BEAS Link to provide water to other basin states." "All the above projects are declared as the National projects," he tweeted.

Under the leadership of Hon'ble PM Sri @narendramodi ji, Our Govt. has decided to stop our share of water which used to flow to Pakistan. We will divert water from Eastern rivers and supply it to our people in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) February 21, 2019

Earlier in the day, Gadkari said water of three rivers flowing into Pakistan will be diverted to Yamuna river. "After partition, three rivers each were divided between India and Pakistan. The water of the three rivers over which India has rights was going to Pakistan. We have constructed projects after which the water of these rivers will be diverted to Yamuna river. Once this happens, there will be more water in Yamuna,” ANI quoted Gadkari as saying. As per the agreement, signed in 1960, India has full rights over Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers while Pakistan has full rights over Jhelum, Chenab and Indus.

#WATCH Union Minister Nitin Gadkari says,"Bharat aur Pakistan hone ke baad, jo humari 3 nadiyan Pakistan ko mili thi aur 3 Bharat ko mili thi. Humare teen nadiyon ke adhikar ka paani Pak mein ja raha tha, ab uss par 3 project karke yeh paani bhi Yamuna mein wapas la rahe hain." pic.twitter.com/w6EfYi3cGg

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019

His statement comes at a time when India is exploring options to corner Pakistan for the deadly Pulwama terror attack. Forty CRPF personnel were killed and five injured on February 14 in one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir when a Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district.