The Indian government had decided to complete the project of diverting water of three rivers of Punjab to Yamuna post-haste in the wake of the 2016 Uri terror attack; now the suggestion of Nitin Gadkari adds a new dimension to the fresh approach of the Narendra Modi government towards the Indus Water Treaty
New Delhi: In yet another suggestion of how India can make life difficult for Pakistan in response to the February 14 fidayin attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama which claimed the lives of over 40 security personnel, Union minister Nitin Gadkari unveiled a project to ‘choke’ Pakistan’s water supply.
Speaking in Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, the senior Cabinet minister said India could divert water from three rivers entering Pakistan to Yamuna. The minister said that a project was being worked upon wherein the three rivers would be connected to facilitate inland waterway channels for transportation of goods.
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
As per the Indus Water Treaty, rivers Ravi, Sutlej and Beas were allocated to India whereas Jhelum, Chenab and Indus waters went to Pakistan.
The minister for water resources said the water from these three rivers would now be used to ‘nurture’ Yamuna.
“When India and Pakistan were divided, three rivers were given to Pakistan and three to India. However, India continuously gave the river water supply to Pakistan, but now we will use that river water supply to nurture the Yamuna river through the Yamuna project,” Gadkari said.
The Indian government had decided to complete this project post-haste in the wake of the 2016 Uri terror attack.
The announcement from such a senior leader of the Modi dispensation came after India revoked the most favoured nation (MFN) status to Pakistan and a call for banning Pakistan from the cricket World Cup later in the day else India would leave the tournament. Moreover, India has already imposed a 200% import duty on goods from Pakistan to cripple the belligerent neighbours economy.
Last Updated Feb 21, 2019, 7:14 PM IST