India stops water of Ravi river from going to Pakistan by building a dam

India has stopped the flow of water from Ravi River towards Pakistan by constructing a dam which has been waiting for completion for 45 years.

India has exclusive rights over the waters of Ravi under the 'Indus Water Treaty' signed in 1960 under the supervision of the World Bank. Shahpur Kandi Barrage located in Pathankot district of Punjab was halted due to the dispute between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. But due to this, a large part of India's water was going to Pakistan for the last several years.

Under the Indus Water Treaty, India has full rights over the waters of Ravi, Sutlej and Beas, while Pakistan has rights over the waters of Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. In 1979, the governments of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir signed an agreement to build the Ranjit Sagar Dam and the downstream Shahpur Kandi Barrage to stop Pakistan's waters. The agreement was signed by the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal.

In 1982, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi laid the foundation of this project, which was expected to be completed by 1998. While construction of the Ranjit Sagar Dam was completed in 2001, the Shahpur Kandi Barrage could not be built and the water of the Ravi River continued to flow into Pakistan. The Shahpur Kandi project was declared a national project in 2008, but construction work began in 2013. Ironically, the project was stalled again in 2014 due to disputes between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Finally, in 2018, the Center mediated and brokered an agreement between the two states. After this the work of the dam started, finally it is finished. The water which was going to Pakistan will now be used to irrigate Kathua and Samba, two major districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Now 32,000 hectares of land in the Union Territory will be irrigated with 1150 cusecs of water. Jammu and Kashmir will also be able to get 20 percent of the hydroelectric power generated from the dam.

The 55.5 meter high Shahpurkandi Dam is part of a multi-purpose river valley project, consisting of two hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of 206 MW. It is built on the Ravi River, 11 km below the Ranjit Sagar Dam Project. Apart from Jammu and Kashmir, the water of the dam will also help Punjab and Rajasthan.