This is clear to all of us: the devastating floods, first at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and now in Punjab, this season of Monzón are extreme climatic events. So why do we listen to people repeatedly mentioning that Pakistan is accusing India to worsen her by throwing her excess water into our rivers?
To understand how water release works from the dam, The express trustee He spoke with several experts.
Dr. Hassaan F Khan, an urban water expert from the University of Tufts, explained that each prey has two main systems: regular liberation doors and vegetables. Regular doors are used for water supply needs, such as agriculture, and are considered normal releases. “But when a dam is filled to its maximum capacity, water cannot be delayed due to the risk of structural damage,” he said. “At that time, spills open to release extra water. If not, the dam could collapse.”
According to Dr. Hassaan, India released the water from multiple dams in recent days, since they had reached their capacity. “That is what the Indian side states,” he said. “While Pakistan cannot verify this directly, it makes sense given the context. These releases are not unusual.”
Both the extreme rain and the weather played a role in this year’s floods in the region. “India saw record rains, especially in Himachal Pradesh, which sent large water flows to the rivers,” he said. “India was also forced to release water in the Sutlej and Ravi. Prime Minister Modi had previously said that India would not allow not even a drop of water from these rivers to flow into Pakistan, but when the storage is impossible, the water must be eliminated. They prefer to store water for use in the low -flow season of November and December.”
In response to our question, Dr. Hassaan emphasized that there is no evidence that India has deliberately released water to damage Pakistan. “Speculation is possible, but we have never found evidence of intentional action,” he said. “Since the suspension of the India’s Waters Treaty, India no longer shares detailed data as before. Now, only short notifications are sent through the Indian High Commissioner, which is inadequate compared to the past agreements. The early alert system is much weaker now.”
Muhammad Uumer Karim, principal researcher and aquatic resources specialist, explained the cycle of hydrology or natural water system for this area as a background. “In our region, water freezes in winter as ice and glaciers, then defrost in the summer. Combined with the rains of the monsoon, this increases the flows of the river. The glaciers that melt to this volume. The vegetables open only when the dams are full. During the rest of the year, the water is gradually through the channels for drinking and irrigation. This time, this time, this time, this time, this time, this time. They took to the damage of the flood.
The environmental lawyer Ahmed Rafay Alam pointed out that the dam infrastructure on both sides is “essentially the same.” India has three main dams in Jhelum, Beas and Ravi. Pakistan has mangla and tarbela prey. “Both countries store monzonic and glacier water for winter crops, and both dams of dams were built by US companies. Their designs and operations are essentially the same.”
This year, however, the situation became critical. “The Pong dam at the Beas, the Bhakra dam in the Sutlej near Himachal Pradesh, and Madhopur heads in Ravi reached dangerous levels between August 23 and 25,” he said. “To protect the infrastructure, India opened the landfills, and some doors of the Madhopur flood even collapsed due to water pressure, causing death. This is what we call a ‘controlled release’ release.”
Alam said that in India, the energy production of the dam is controlled by the federal government, but irrigation and the supply of domestic water are a provincial responsibility. That is why he believes that New Delhi could have better managed the crisis. “The Ravi dam is in the state of Punjab, where Congress is strong,” he said. “The Federal Government led by BJP did not share timely data or warnings to issue. As a result, the Indian Punjab suffered important damage. Around 500 villages were submerged. Now, the Punjab government demands an investigation, accusing the BJP of letting Punjab deliberate deliberately. This shows that Pakistan was not the only coup, he also devastated himself.” “
These experts clarified that the main flood waters do not flow directly from India to Pakistan. Instead, they first go through several cities and Indian towns, traveling from 100 to 150 km before crossing the border. “Indian water throws joined Pakistan’s misery,” said Alam, “but there is no evidence that they were intentional. India itself suffered a similar destruction.”
Dr. Daanish Mustafa, professor of Geography of Water Resources at the King’s College London, added: “Water release occurs when the safe design capacity of a reservoir is exceeded. There is no infrastructure can stop the maximum flow of the monzón water. More rain means more water, it is like that.
