Chenab swells as India throws open 2 gates of Baglihar dam

Srinagar: While India and Pakistan agreed to a pause in firing and military action, with no mention of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) which India has put in abeyance, two gates of the Baglihar dam were thrown open on Saturday, causing Chenab River to swell.Sources said two gates of the dam remained open from around 8.30am till 4.30pm. The gates were opened to regulate rising water levels triggered by heavy rainfall in the region on Friday.The IWT gives India exclusive rights to use the waters of the eastern rivers - Sutlej, Beas and Ravi - and their tributaries, before they enter Pakistan, while the latter secured rights over the waters of the western rivers - Chenab, Jhelum and Indus.Following the Pahalgam terror attack, India put the treaty in abeyance.On May 3, National Conference president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, said his party had consistently opposed the IWT as it was harming the interests of J&K, and asserted that it was time to divert Chenab water to Jammu and harness power from the Jhelum in Kashmir. "We have been saying for a long time that this treaty has to be reviewed," he added.NC has maintained that the IWT gave away the rights over the rivers to Pakistan without consulting J&K, and the treaty should be re-looked.In March 2003, J&K legislative council had adopted a resolution moved by NC, then in opposition, asking the Union govt to review the IWT with a view to safeguarding the interests of the UT (then a state). In 2011, Omar Abdullah, as the then CM, had asked compensation from the central govt on account of losses incurred by the State due to the IWT. In 2010, J&K government had accorded sanction to engage a consultant to quantify the losses suffered by J&K because of the treaty.