O-Level Geography Chapter 3 Water Resources Indus Water Treaty

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Indus Water Treaty

After the partition of subcontinent the headworks (headworks of Madhopur on the Ravi and Ferozpur on the Sutlej were given to India). Canals from these headworks irrigated a vast area in southern Punjab.

On April 1, 1948, India stopped the supply of water to Pakistan. Pakistan protested and India finally agreed on an interim agreement on May 1948. According to this the Pakistani government was to pay for the water it required. The agreement was not a permanent solution. Thus Pakistan approached the World Bank in 1952 to help settle the problem permanently.

Negotiations were carried out between the two countries through the offices of the World Bank. Finally an agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in September 1960. This agreement is known as the Indus Water Treaty.

This divided the use of water between the two countries. Pakistan obtained exclusive rights for the three western rivers, namely Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. India retained rights to the three eastern rivers; Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The treaty also guaranteed ten years of uninterrupted water supply period during which Pakistan was to build huge dams, financed partly by long-term World Bank loans, UK and USA aid and compensation money from India. Three multipurpose dams; Warsak, Mangla and Tarbela were built. Eight link canals were also built to transfer water from three western rivers into three eastern rivers. Five barrages were also made

• Chashma barrage
• Rasul Barrage
• Marala barrage
• Qadirabad Barrage
• Kotri barrage