India to revive Tulbul Navigation Project on Jhelum River: Soz

Union Minister for Water Resources Professor Saifuddin Soz has said that he has written to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the subject of expediting work on the Tulbul Navigation Project, and added that a Japanese company has agreed to invest in the project.

Srinagar, Sept. 18 : Union Minister for Water Resources Professor Saifuddin Soz has said that he has written to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the subject of expediting work on the Tulbul Navigation Project, and added that "a Japanese company has agreed to invest in the project."

"The Indus Water Treaty (of 1960) will not be impaired by this navigation at all. It is allowed, there is no bar for it. We must do it. And encroachments must go and let us do everything for the conservation and beautification of the Jhelum," he said.

Pakistan refers to it as the Wullar Barrage.

Both countries have contested each other's right to area since 1984 after India announced plans to build a barrage at the mouth of the Wullar Lake, where it meets the Jhelum River, with a storage capacity of 300,000 acres feet.Pakistan maintained that the project violated its rights as a lower riparian country granted by the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that governs sharing of common river waters.

However, India says the barrage is aimed at facilitating navigation between Baramullah and Wullar and did not violate the treaty.

Islamabad fears the barrage could interfere with the flow of Jhelum River water into Pakistan and adversely affect its agro-based economy. India insists that the barrage would not hinder water flows into Pakistan.

According to the Indus Water Treaty, India has rights over the waters of the Ravi, Sutlej and Beas rivers, while Pakistan has rights over the waters of the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum. India began construction work on the project, but halted it in 1986 following objections from Pakistan.

The Wullar Barrage, if completed, will be 439 feet long and 40 feet wide with maximum storage capacity of 300,000 (0.30 million) acres feet of water.

The Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project is one of eight issues being discussed under the Pakistan-India Composite Dialogue process.

ANI