By Kavita Mistry 
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said that while India’s waters used to flow outside, it will now be used only in the country’s interests, in remarks that came days after his government put in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty in a diplomatic offensive against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack.
At a time when tensions are high between the two countries ahead of possible military action by India, the PM, without naming Pakistan, said water will now be reserved for the benefit of Indians and will not go out of India.
Modi made these remarks in New Delhi while speaking at a conclave hosted by ABP Network.
He said there has been a lot of discussion regarding water in the media. “Pehle Bharat ke haq ka pani bhi bahar jaa raha tha. Now India’s water will flow for India, will be retained for India, and it will be utilised for Indian interests only,” he said.
“For decades, the water of our rivers was made a subject of tension and conflict, but our government, in collaboration with the state governments, has started a mega campaign to link the rivers. Ken-Betwa (River) Link Project, Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal Link Project…these will benefit millions of farmers,” he added.
After putting the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, India also initiated flushing of the reservoirs of Baglihar and Salal, its two run-of-the-river hydroelectric power projects on the Chenab river in Jammu & Kashmir, a move that has impeded flow of Chenab water downstream and is set to impact kharif sowing in Pakistan.
ThePrint had reported how the decision is among a series of diplomatic measures India has initiated against Pakistan, whose involvement it suspects in the Pahalgam terror attack which claimed the lives of 26 people on 22 April.
India had earlier also cut down Pakistan’s diplomatic presence, cancelled all Pakistani visas, and shut down the Wagah-Attari border in Amritsar too.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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