SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday opposed a proposal to divert surplus water from three Western rivers of the Indus system in J&K to Punjab after the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan. “Nobody will take our water. I will not permit it. First, let us use our water for ourselves, and then we will talk of others,” Abdullah asserted.He was responding to a question regarding a 113-km canal proposed for redirecting surplus water from the three rivers of the Indus System in Jammu and Kashmir — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.“There is drought in Jammu, and taps are running dry there. Why should I send water to Punjab, which already has three (Eastern) rivers under IWT? Did Punjab give us water then,” Omar countered.He said J&K was yearning for water when the multipurpose project and Shahpur Kandi barrage was started.“They made us cry for so many years. After a lot of fighting, some work was done on Shahpur Kandi (Barrage),” he said.Asserting that he won’t release water to Punjab, Omar said, “As of now, this water is for us, and we will use it for ourselves and then decide about others.”Asked how J&K was going to use the surplus water from Western River waters, he announced, “We would start work on Tulbul Navigation Barrage project in north Kashmir again and will also divert water from Chenab river from Akhnoor to Jammu”.The Wullar barrage project is a navigation lock-cum-control structure located at the outlet of Wular Lake in north Kashmir. It was designed to facilitate navigation on the Jhelum River during the lean winter months.
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