IWT: Water in Chenab Reduced, China Threatens India over Brahmaputra

In his address to India on 12 May, commenting on India placing the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), 1960 into ‘abeyance’, Prime Minister Narender Modi said, 'Terror and trade cannot go together, water and blood cannot flow together.' On 1 Jun, Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) said,  'A sharp decline of 91,000 cusecs in water flow into the Chenab river in the past two days.' The Chenab river is critical for Pakistan’s agriculture, especially in Panjab province. Pakistan is staring at a bleak summer sowing season with a major dip in live storage at its two key dams—Mangla on river Jhelum and Tarbela on Indus river. On 30 May, Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif raised this concern at a conference on glacier preservation in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. He said, Pakistan would not ‘allow India to cross the red line by holding the IWT in abeyance and endangering millions of lives for narrow political gains.’ On 31 May, Victor Zhikai Gao, Vice President of the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing,  expressed displeasure over India’s stand on the IWT. He said that one should not treat others in a way they themselves would not like to be treated. Victor highlighted China’s control over the Brahmaputra river, which is very important for India’s water security and suggested that if India stops water from reaching China’s friend Pakistan, China might also block water flowing into India. While it is true that about 65% of Brahmaputra river’s water is generated in India, China is building the world’s largest Great Bend Dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo river (the Brahmaputra's name in Tibet). When complete, if China suddenly releases the dam’s water it can destroy large parts of North East India. Meanwhile, opposing Panjab govt.’s plea against allocation of additional water to Haryana from Bhakra Nangal Dam project the union govt.’s counsel on 27 May invoked the tenth Sikh sovereign Guru Gobind Singh. It is ironic that when it comes to Panjab and Haryana the union govt. invokes the Guru, but forgets the Guru when it comes to India and Pakistan (earlier coverage).