Indian Indus Water Commissioner Iringathan visited Marala Headworks on river Chenab near Sialkot on Sunday in connection with Pakistan's demand for compensation of 0.2 million acre feet water that India illegally stored in Baglihar Dam in occupied Kashmir in September this year.
The three-member Indian water delegation arrived in Lahore from New Delhi on Saturday evening to discuss Chenab Water issue with its Pakistani counterparts.
Pakistan Indus Water Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah told Business Recorder that the Indian Water Commissioner's inspection of Head Marala was on reciprocal basis. Earlier the Pakistani Indus Water Commissioner had inspected India's newly commissioned Baglihar hydropower project on 24th October.
During its Sunday's visit to Marala Headworks, Indian Water Commission team checked the data provided by Pakistan to India about the drastically reduced inflow of water at the Headworks during the months of August and September due to filling of Baglihar dam after the permissible period in violation of the Indus Water Treaty between the two countries. Senior officials of Pakistan Indus Water Commission and Punjab irrigation department were also present on the occasion.
It may be recalled that in the last meeting of Pakistan-India Water Commissioners there was a wide gap between the statistics produced by the parties to the dispute. India spurned the call for compensation by rejecting the data presented by Pakistan and refused to admit that it violated the Indus Waters Treaty.
Experts say that India's violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) caused a reduction of water flows in River Chenab by 35,000 cusecs a day against the agreed releases of 55,000 cusecs at a time when Kharif crops in central Punjab were near maturity. According to Punjab government's conservative estimate the Indian blockade of water caused Kharif crops losses of Rs five billion this year. For its part, Pakistan has sought compensation from India in terms of water during the ongoing Rabi season. The Indian Water Commissioner and members of his delegation will leave for New Delhi on Monday.
Pakistan has been pursuing the Chenab water issue with India at the highest level as being an agrarian country its economic, political and social survival depends heavily on the agriculture.
Experts apprehend that if India continued to block water of river Chenab and Jhelum through hydro-power projects in occupied Kashmir violating the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (1960) it could turn Pakistan's vast tracks of fertile lands into barren and unproductive lands and make millions of farmers and farm labourers jobless. River Jhelum and River Chenab irrigate lands of Pakistan's food basket Punjab province.
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