“Did they give us water?” Omar Abdullah rejects canal plan to divert water to Punjab
Addressing reports of India building a canal to divert excess water from three western rivers of the Indus system in Jammu and Kashmir to Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah referenced the 45-year-old Shahpur Kandi barrage dispute with Punjab and questioned, "Did they give us water?";
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah didn’t hold back when asked about India’s reported plan to build a canal that would divert excess water from three western rivers of the Indus system in the Union Territory to Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan.
“Why should I send water to Punjab?” Abdullah said sharply during a press interaction on Friday, making it clear that the long-standing tensions between the two regions are far from forgotten. “I will never allow this. We should use our water for ourselves first. Jammu is facing a drought-like situation. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has water under the Indus Water Treaty. Did they ever share water with us when we needed it?” he questioned.
Abdullah also referred to the decades-old dispute between Punjab and J\&K over the Shahpur Kandi barrage in Pathankot. The agreement to build the barrage, signed in 1979, only materialized in 2018 after intervention by the central government. The barrage was designed to stop water from the River Ravi flowing into Pakistan.
“They made us suffer for so many years,” Omar Abdullah said bluntly.
The 55-year-old leader made his position clear about the proposed 113-km canal: “For now, the water is for us. We will use it first, then we’ll think about others.”
In May, media reports said the Indian government had decided to divert water that was supposed to go to Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty for use in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana. The Jal Shakti Ministry is reportedly fast-tracking infrastructure projects to make this happen, according to ANI.
The ministry’s goal is to ensure that not a single drop of water meant for Pakistan goes to waste. This development came soon after India launched Operation Sindoor and suspended its commitment to the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the sharing of six rivers — Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, Indus, Chenab, and Sutlej — between India and Pakistan.
India’s decision to suspend the treaty and launch Operation Sindoor was in response to the April 22 massacre in J\&K’s Pahalgam, where 22 people, mostly tourists, were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists.