Dams turned fragile as IWT rider barred desilting: Jitendra Singh

With Jammu and Kashmir facing imminent flood threat amid incessant rains, senior minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said inability of the government to conduct regular desilting could be a reason impacting dam health, which could, in turn, aggravate flood situation.

He was answering a Tribune query on the fragile health of dams in the country. Recently, two of the 54 gates of the Madhopur barrage gave way under heavy rains, leading to flooding in Punjab’s Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts. The barrage stands downstream of the Ranjit Sagar Dam which regulates the flow on the Ravi.

Asked to comment on the fragile dam health, Singh said, “This (the failure of dams) has also got something to do with what the Prime Minister said in Parliament about desilting which could not happen for years due to the limitations India faced under the now suspended Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. That could be one reason, apart from the timing, which left little response time to deal with the incessant rains. We are witnessing the heaviest rains in 99 years. But the lack of desilting has had multiple consequences, and there was no occasion to put the Indian dams on the western rivers —allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty — to the test,” said Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Udhampur, one of the worst-hit regions.

Fencing, border posts hit

Sources said fencing along the International Border had eroded due to rains and several border posts in Punjab and J&K were inundated.

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Union Earth Sciences Minister Singh said just as India had the opportunity to test modern warfare techniques against Pakistan in Operation Sindoor, it has not yet had the chance to test the strength of dams on the western rivers due to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). He added that the IWT was erroneously conceived to India’s disadvantage.

“Now, even the eastern rivers of the Indus basin which were with India are flooded. Beas is also heavily flooded,” he said, adding that the Government was mulling mechanisms to study factors that contribute to cloudbursts.

Singh added that while cloudbursts couldn’t be predicted, scientists were now working to assess whether atmospheric parameters such as heat and moisture, which contribute to the phenomenon, can be forecast.

The minister said the society needs to evolve a code for self-regulation against unauthorised constructions because flooding is a multi-factorial challenge.

Silt accumulation leading to flood risk

Silt accumulation in dams causes increased flood risk by reducing the reservoir’s water storage capacity, forcing water to be released at higher levels, and elevating the riverbed downstream, which decreases the river’s ability to hold water.

“One factor behind flooding is rains which is a natural cause. The other is drainage. If ample drainage is available, water will flow across without causing damage. But these days, there’s a tendency to even cover drainage outlets by extending construction. These things exacerbate flood damage and are manmade. We have to seriously think about illegal construction and encroachments,” the minister added, noting that people were now willing to cooperate having seen the wrath of rains, cloudbursts and flooding.

Dams on the western rivers are Salal on the Jhelum and Baglihar and Dulhasti on the Chenab. After suspending the IWT on April 23, India conducted reservoir flushing, removal of silt and sediment on Salal and Baglihar, operated by the state-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.

Dams on the eastern rivers (allocated to India under IWT) are Bhakra on Sutlej, Pong on Beas and Ranjit Sagar on Ravi.