<b>India says no to compensation for blocking Chenab in Aug â08</b>
ISLAMABAD : <b>New Dehli has refused to extend compensation both in shape of water or in monetary form to Islamabad for the blockade of Chenab river by India in August, 2008 that inflicted huge monetary loss to agrarian economy of Pakistan.</b>
âDuring the three-day dialogue between Pakistan and India at Permanent Commission of Indus Waters (PCIW), held in New Dehli from May 31 to June 2, Islamabad raised the issue of compensation of massive dip in water availability that Pakistan experienced in August 2008 owing to filling of Baglihar hydropower project, <b>but India has turned down any compensation saying that it does not believe the data of Pakistan and argued that water dip that the lower riparian country experienced was not because of the filling of Baglihar project, rather it was because of the hydrological conditions of Chenab river,â</b> reveals the document containing the minutes of the Delhi meeting exclusively available with The News.
However, India, the document says, desires to verify the data collected by Pakistan authorities when the River Chenab experienced dip in the month of August 2008.
Syed Jamaat Ali Shah headed Pakistan delegation during the meeting at Permanent Commission of Indus Waters level.
Under the Indus Waters Treaty, India cannot reduce the flow in Chenab River below 55,000 cusecs between 21st June and August 31, 2008, whereas Pakistan had been receiving a discharge of as low as 20,000 cusecs during August-September 2008.
When contacted spokesman of Ministry of Water and Power, Zarar Aslam confirmed that India has refused to compensate Pakistan for the water shortage that the country faced in August 2008 in River Chenab. However, he refused to share the modus operandi that the government will adopt to tackle this issue.
Pakistan Commission of Indus Water Commissioner Syed Jamaat Ali Shah was not available for comments despite many attempts to contact him.
India is currently spending around $200 billion on the construction of water tunnels to the River Indus, which could turn parts of Pakistan barren, a senior official at the Ministry told The News.
According to, Advisor to the Punjab Irrigation Department advisor M H Siddiqui says that Chenab blockade in August 2008 affected over 10 million acres of land in the province and the standing paddy crop in the area suffered losses, as it was the time of maturity and needed the last watering, which could not be completed just because of the blatant violations of Indus Waters Treaty 1960 by India and continuing to fill up the dead shortage of Baglihar HPP beyond August 31, 2008.
The document also reveals that Jammat Ali Shah has sought permission from New Delhi to visit three large hydropower projects that India is constructing at Laddakh Area on River Indus, which is the lifeline of Pakistan.
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