‘Did They Give Us Water?’: Omar Abdullah Rejects Plan to Divert J&K Rivers to Punjab
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday issued a stern rejection of a reported central government plan to build a canal to divert water from the Union Territory’s rivers to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan, asking bluntly, “Why should I send water to Punjab?”
In a fiery press conference, Abdullah made it clear that J&K’s own needs come first, especially with parts of the region facing “drought-like” conditions. He invoked a long and bitter history of water-sharing disputes with Punjab to justify his government’s hardline stance.
“I will never permit this. Let us use our water for ourselves first,” Abdullah stated emphatically. “There is a drought-like situation in Jammu. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already had water under the Indus Water Treaty. Did they give us water when we needed it?” he questioned.
The Chief Minister’s comments were in response to recent reports that the Union Jal Shakti Ministry is fast-tracking a project to build a 113-km-long canal. This canal aims to divert surplus water from the Chenab river in J&K to the Ravi-Beas-Sutlej river system to benefit the northern states. The plan gained momentum after India suspended its adherence to the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan following recent terror attacks.
In his strong rebuttal, Abdullah referred to the decades-long delay in the completion of the Shahpur Kandi barrage project in Pathankot, an agreement signed between J&K and Punjab back in 1979. The barrage, meant to stop the flow of Ravi’s water to Pakistan, saw fruition only in 2018 after the Centre’s intervention.
“Kitne saal unhone humein rulaya. (They made us cry for so many years),” Abdullah said, highlighting the historical grievance. “For now, the water is for us. We will use the water first, and then we will think about others,” he added.
His firm opposition is set to trigger a significant political and administrative debate on inter-state water sharing, especially as the central government looks to fully utilize its share of water from the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) that flow through Jammu and Kashmir.
