Sunday, January 17, 2016

Water wars


Book "India's water wars with her neighbours":
https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=Bv-pCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160#v=onepage&q&f=false

http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/national/24-Jul-2012/thirsty-south-asia-s-river-rifts-threaten-water-wars
"South Asia is symbolic of what we are seeing in terms of water stress and tensions across the world," says BG Verghese, author and analyst at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research.
The region is one of the world's most water-stressed, yet the population is adding an extra 25 million people a year - South Asia's per capita water availability has dropped by 70 percent since 1950, says the Asian Development Bank.
The effect of climate change on glaciers and rainfall patterns may be crucial.
"Most of the water that is used in Pakistan comes from glacial melt or the monsoon," says Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer and coordinator of the water programme at Lahore University of Management Sciences.
The dry months of June-July offer a snapshot of the extreme water crisis in the region.
Hospitals in New Delhi this year cancelled surgeries because they had no water to sterilise instruments, clean operating theatres or even wash hands. Swanky malls selling luxury brands were forced to switch off air conditioners and shut toilets."

http://newsweekpakistan.com/is-india-stealing-pakistans-water/
"Saiyid Ali Naqvi’s Indus Waters and Social Change: the Evolution and Transition of Agrarian Society in Pakistan (Rs. 2,900, Oxford University Press Pakistan) looks at Indus waters and their importance to Pakistan. Anyone who wants to know the real story of each Pakistani river and its irrigation barrages should read this 796-page work from the former Asian Development Bank officer who worked on a number of water resources and rural development projects in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and Pakistan....
Pakistan and India need normalization of relations, followed by free trade and territorial connectivity, to cooperate on the fast-depleting waters of South Asia. Pakistan has lost all cases of arbitration it has brought against India so far, which simply proves that the media is once again favoring war with India instead of peace. Slanted media reports about India stealing Pakistan’s waters are planted to cause alarm and resultant jingoism for another war with India that Pakistan will surely lose."

http://www.dawn.com/news/1125409
"April 14, 2014: ISLAMABAD: A fact-finding mission of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has said three major stakeholders in the water sector — Punjab, Sindh and Wapda — are misreporting river flow data, putting consumers, particularly the tail-end users, at a disadvantage."

http://www.dawn.com/news/1121718
"July 26, 2014: ISLAMABAD: The Sindh government is expected to move the Council of Common Interests (CCI) against a decision by the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) to divert 15,000 cusecs of water from River Indus to the Jhelum-Chenab Zone through the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal."
 
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20121130&page=3
"Annexure C of the Indus Waters Treaty is about India's right to divert certain amount of water in certain months from the Western Rivers given to Pakistan. There is also no bar on the building of water storage for electricity production or any other non-consumptive use on Western Rivers (Annexure E). If anyone complains in Pakistan about India building dams and taking some water out of our rivers, he speaks out of ignorance.

Brahma Chellaney in his book Water: Asia's New Battleground (Harper/Collins 2011) remarks: 'Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a national news conference in April 2010 and said: "Is India stealing that water from you? No, it is not. Please do not fool yourself and do not misguide the nation. We are mismanaging that water". Despite his confession, the Pakistani government has continued to spotlight water as a contentious bilateral matter. One possible reason for its raking up the water issue in recent years is that it helps Pakistan to redirect attention away from India's focus on cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory as the core concern' (p.223)."

http://www.dawn.com/news/840223/the-two-punjabs
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/water-crisis-of-east-west-punjab/article775875.ece
"In Pakistan, the population growth from 50 million to 175 million has put an unacceptable burden. This has reduced the water availability per capita, per year, from 5,000 cubic feet in 1960 to 1,500 today. In our Punjab too, the population has increased over 60 years but at a lesser rate. In 1947, in east Punjab, 6,000 cubic metres of potable water was available per person, per year. Now it is only 1,600 cubic metres. It is estimated to fall further to 1,147 cubic metres in 2050. However, the nine lakh shallow tubewells now dangle dry. The rich have started digging deep to 300 ft or more with submersible pumps to grab water. Small farmers who predominate cannot afford the cost and their wells are drying up. One deep tubewell will dry up a hundred around it. The water table has gone far down, and this situation will lead to social tension. We read every day that 95 per cent of east Punjab's development blocks are in the grey area, for tubewells. In southern Punjab, and some other pockets, the underground water, in any case, is salty. West Punjab too faces these grave questions......"

http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/26-Jul-2011/comment-indo-pak-water-issues-room-for-cooperation-tridivesh-singh-maini
"Interestingly in 1928, an ICS officer by the name of Calvert had predicted a water shortage due to over-dependence of the Punjabi farmers on tube-wells, dams, rivers and rainfall. Erstwhile Minister for Statistics in India, Dr MS Gill, has been warning about the perilous consequences of water usage in both Punjabs. In an article titled 'Water crisis of east and west Punjab', for The Hindu in June 2010, Gill bolstered his argument with the following figures:
"However, the nine lakh shallow tube-wells now dangle dry. The rich have started digging deep to 300 feet or more with submersible pumps to grab water. Small farmers who predominate cannot afford the cost and their wells are drying up. One deep tube-well will dry up 100 (tube-wells) around it. The water table has gone far down, and this situation will lead to social tension...West Punjab too faces these grave questions."
With reference to West Punjab too Gill, while retorting to former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's statement that "the total average canal supplies of Pakistan are 104 million acre feet while the water available at the four gates is about 70 million acre feet", said that the remaining 34 million acre feet is not stolen by India."


http://archives.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/12-Nov-2004/second-opinion-water-wars-are-next-in-south-asia-khaled-ahmed-s-tv-review
"'Rivers were sold' is a slogan being raised in Sindh, Indian Punjab and Held Kashmir. Scarce water is being fought over not by the states alone but provinces within the states. In the coming days, there will be trouble over water. Where there are treaties, the trouble could be managed through diplomacy. But in cases where there are no treaties, the lower riparians with weak resources will have to eat the humble pie. It is better for a lower riparian to have what looks like an unequal treaty. Having no treaty at all goes in favour of the upper riparian. India has a 30-year treaty over the Ganges waters with Bangladesh, but has no treaty over the other 50 rivers that come down through India. The demand for water is so high inside India that it will go ahead with its 'river-linking project' even though it knows that Bangladesh's 50 rivers will go dry as a result of it. Pakistan has been able to successfully challenge some of the Indian water projects over Jhelum and Chenab rivers under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty. Imagine if it had no treaty binding India to an agreed apportionment of water!"

https://www.dawn.com/news/1322344
23 March 2017:
The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has decided to provide Sindh with additional supply of around 4,000 to 5,000 cusecs of water, DawnNews reported on Thursday.
Irsa officials have closed down Panjand, Taremo and TP link canals to divert the additional flows to Sindh.
The spokesperson for Sindh chief minister confirmed to the media that Irsa officials have assured the provincial government that Sindh will start receiving additional water flows in next two days.
The authority took the decision after detailed consultations with the Punjab government. To provide the additional water to Sindh province, the authority has closed down three canals in Punjab.
The Sindh government had been hitting hard against the federal government over the shortage of water flows.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had demanded of the federal government that the management of water distribution from the Mangla and Tarbela dams be given to Sindh and Balochistan on a rotational basis since the Water and Power Development Authority was not reliable as far as fair distribution of irrigation water was concerned.
The chief minister had stated at a press conference that the shortage of water would hit the province badly since early sowing took place in Sindh because of the weather conditions. He was also critical of the ‘unfair attitude’ of the federal water and power ministry for creating hurdles in installing power plants and transmission and distribution system.
On the other hand, earlier this month, the Balochistan Assembly passed a resolution against alleged stealing of water by Sindh under the Irsa agreement.
The continued stealing of water by Sindh remains a major problem for farmers in Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts, the resolution stated.
A Balochistan MPA Mohammad Khan Lehri, who tabled the resolution had alleged that as per the agreement, Sindh was responsible for providing 2,500 cusecs of water during the growing season. He, however, claimed that since 1991, Balochistan was being denied the share as per the Irsa pact.

http://fp.brecorder.com/2017/03/20170327158707/
With respect to the 1991 Water Accord, hailed at the time as a landmark achievement, the question is: does the Water Accord continue to satisfy all provinces? In 2009 the then Sindh Irrigation and Power Minister, incumbent Chief Minister Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, wrote a letter to Indus River System Authority (Irsa), stating: "As far as water distribution is concerned, the only thing in vogue is the 1991 Water Accord. The Irsa is a creation of the 1991 accord and the creation cannot alter or violate the accord under which it was created....Any use of historic uses in any form will be a violation of the accord as determined by the Law Division. How can Irsa decide to use any criteria in the absence of decision?" Irsa's response was as follows: "In the absence of any decision by the authority on the issue, it has been decided by Irsa that criteria for Rabi 2009-10 as per practice in vogue may be issued." Murad Ali Shah termed this as "contradictory" prompting Irsa to respond that "in view of the expected pressure, the five Irsa members took a decision not to bow before any pressure."

On 20th March 2017, Murad Ali Shah as the Chief Minister again accused the Centre of creating shortage of water in Sindh which this time around has prompted Irsa to close Trimmu and Punjnad canals after discussions with Punjab aimed at supplying additional water to Sindh and appeasing the provincial government. Sceptics argue that this decision may well be due to the impending Panama verdict.

Annexure C of the Indus Waters Treaty is about India's right to divert certain amount of water in certain months from the Western Rivers given to Pakistan. There is also no bar on the building of water storage for electricity production or any other non-consumptive use on Western Rivers (Annexure E). If anyone complains in Pakistan about India building dams and taking some water out of our rivers, he speaks out of ignorance.

Brahma Chellaney in his book Water: Asia's New Battleground (Harper/Collins 2011) remarks: 'Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a national news conference in April 2010 and said: "Is India stealing that water from you? No, it is not. Please do not fool yourself and do not misguide the nation. We are mismanaging that water". Despite his confession, the Pakistani government has continued to spotlight water as a contentious bilateral matter. One possible reason for its raking up the water issue in recent years is that it helps Pakistan to redirect attention away from India's focus on cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory as the core concern' (p.223). - See more at: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20121130&page=3#sthash.1lxi1sNA.dpuf
Annexure C of the Indus Waters Treaty is about India's right to divert certain amount of water in certain months from the Western Rivers given to Pakistan. There is also no bar on the building of water storage for electricity production or any other non-consumptive use on Western Rivers (Annexure E). If anyone complains in Pakistan about India building dams and taking some water out of our rivers, he speaks out of ignorance.

Brahma Chellaney in his book Water: Asia's New Battleground (Harper/Collins 2011) remarks: 'Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a national news conference in April 2010 and said: "Is India stealing that water from you? No, it is not. Please do not fool yourself and do not misguide the nation. We are mismanaging that water". Despite his confession, the Pakistani government has continued to spotlight water as a contentious bilateral matter. One possible reason for its raking up the water issue in recent years is that it helps Pakistan to redirect attention away from India's focus on cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory as the core concern' (p.223). - See more at: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20121130&page=3#sthash.1lxi1sNA.dpuf
Annexure C of the Indus Waters Treaty is about India's right to divert certain amount of water in certain months from the Western Rivers given to Pakistan. There is also no bar on the building of water storage for electricity production or any other non-consumptive use on Western Rivers (Annexure E). If anyone complains in Pakistan about India building dams and taking some water out of our rivers, he speaks out of ignorance.

Brahma Chellaney in his book Water: Asia's New Battleground (Harper/Collins 2011) remarks: 'Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a national news conference in April 2010 and said: "Is India stealing that water from you? No, it is not. Please do not fool yourself and do not misguide the nation. We are mismanaging that water". Despite his confession, the Pakistani government has continued to spotlight water as a contentious bilateral matter. One possible reason for its raking up the water issue in recent years is that it helps Pakistan to redirect attention away from India's focus on cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory as the core concern' (p.223). - See more at: http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20121130&page=3#sthash.1lxi1sNA.dpuf

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