Pakistan To No Longer Receive Ravi Water! Construction Of India’s Shahpur Kandi Barrage Complete – History EXPLAINED

Ravi water flow to Pakistan from India has been stopped completely as the construction of the Shahpur Kandi Barrage has been completed. Read to know about the history and timeline...

Written by: Ananya Srivastava

Published: February 26, 2024, 5:27 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/world/pakistan-to-no-longer-receive-ravi-water-construction-of-shahpur-kandi-dam-pathankot-complete-history-explained-6749574/ Copy

Shahpur Kandi Dam (Representative Image - Wikimedia Commons)

New Delhi: India and Pakistan were partitioned decades ago, in 1947 and have developed deep animosity in diplomatic issues. Amid other things, the two nations have been in the news as the Ravi Water Flow to Pakistan has been stopped and this has happened because of the Shahpur Kandi Barrage in Pathankor, Punjab, India which was awaiting completion for 45 years; the completion of this dam has been done now. Why will Pakistan no longer receive Ravi water, what was the issue between the nations, why was the Shahpur Kandi Barrage construction incomplete and what is the history and important details behind it – read to know…

Pakistan To Not Get Ravi Water Flow From India

As mentioned earlier, because of the Shahpur Kandi Barrage in Punjab, India, Pakistan will now not receive the water of River Ravi anymore. Under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, India has an exclusive right over the water of Ravi and the water is stopped from going to Pakistan, with this Barrage in Pathankot. The Shahpur Kandi Barrage in Pathankot District of Punjab, could not be completed because of a domestic dispute between Punjab and J&K and this is why, a substantial chunk of water from River Ravi, which belonged to India, was going to Pakistan for all these years.

What Is The 1960 Indus Water Treaty

As said before, the water was restricted to India, as per the 1960 Indus Water Treaty which which was signed between India and Pakistan, in the presence of, under the supervision of the World Bank. According to this treaty, India had the sole right over the water of Rivers Sutlej, Beas and Ravi while Pakistan had exclusive rights over water of Rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

What Happens To Water Flowing Into Pakistan?

The water from the Shahpur Kandi Barrage, which was flowing into Pakistan, will be used for irrigation purposes within the nation, specifically for the two key districts of Jammu and Kashmir, namely, Kathua and Samba. The 32,000 hectares of land will be irrigated using 1,150 cusecs of water. 20 percent of the hydel power generated from the dam will also be used by Jammu and Kashmir. The water from this dam will also help the states of Punjab and Rajasthan, apart from J&K.

India Pakistan Issue Over River Ravi Water: History And Timeline

Take a look at the timeline or the history of the issue between India and Pakistan over the water flow of River Ravi..

• 1960: The 1960 Indus Water Treaty was signed under the supervision of the World Bank.
• 1979: An agreement to build the Ranjit Sagar Dam and downstream Shahpur Kandi Barrage was signed between the governments of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir by Parkash Singh Badal and Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah respectively.
• 1982: The foundation laying of the project was done by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi and then, it was expected to be completed by the year 1998.
• 2001: The construction of the Ranjit Sagar Dam was completed but not for the Shahpur Kandi Barrage; this is why water from the latter continued to flow into Pakistan.
• 2008: The Shahpur Kandi Barrage was declared a National Project but its construction began in the year 2013. However, next year in 2014, the project was again stalled because of internal issues between Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.
• 2018: Four years later, the inter-state issues were mediated by the Centre and an agreement was signed.
• 2024: The construction work which started post the mediation of Centre, is now over, resulting in the complete stoppage of Ravi water flow into Pakistan.