Context: Following the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, India has commenced reservoir flushing and maintenance work at the Baglihar and Salal hydroelectric projects on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir.
These operations aim to boost reservoir holding capacity and improve power generation efficiency. This has resulted in reduction of downstream water flow to Pakistan by nearly 90%.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Indus river system and its tributaries; River Valley Projects on Indus river system.
Indus River System
- Nature: Antecedent
- Source: near Mansarovar lake in Tibet.
- Flow direction: First north-west in India, and then sharp bend towards south-west into Pakistan.
- Important locations: Enters India near Damchok Forms deep gorge by cutting Ladakh range at Bunzi, north of Nanga Parbat. Enters Pakistan near Chillas.
Tributaries of Indus River
- Panjnad refers to five rivers of Punjab which are tributaries of the Indus – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj. Jhelum and Ravi join Chenab, Beas joins Sutlej, and then Sutlej and Chenab join to form Panjnad.
| Jhelum | Origin from Sheshnag lake near Verinag (SE Kashmir). Flows through Wular lake. Joins Chenab near Jhang in Pakistan. |
| Chenab | Formed by the confluence of two rivers- Chandra and Bhaga at Tandi near Keylong in Himachal Pradesh. Largest tributary of Indus river. |
| Ravi | It originates from Rohtang pass in Kullu hills of Himachal Pradesh. Flows between the Dhauladhar and Pirpanjal ranges. |
| Beas | It originates from Beas kund near Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh. Joins Satluj within India at a place called Harike in Punjab. |
| Satluj | It originates in the ‘Rakshas tal’ near Mansarovar in Tibet, where it is known as Langchen Khambab. Antecedent river which cuts through the Himalayas at Shipki La and enters India. Feeds the canal system of the Bhakra Nangal project. |
River Valley Projects on Indus System
| Bhakra Nangal project | On river Satluj India’s largest multipurpose project Reservoir–Gobind Sagar |
| Naptha Jhakri project | On Satluj in Himachal Pradesh |
| Indira Gandhi Project | Also known as Rajasthan canal. Drawn out from Harike barrage. Goes up to Jaisalmer and Barmer. |
| Pong project | On Beas Reservoir- Maharana Pratap Sagar |
| Pandoh project | On Beas |
| Chamera project | On Ravi in Himachal Pradesh |
| Thein project | On Ravi in Punjab |
| Salal project | On Chenab in Jammu & Kashmir |
| Baglihar project | On Chenab in Jammu & Kashmir |
| Dulhasti project | On Chenab in Jammu & Kashmir |
| Tulbul project | On Jhelum in Jammu & Kashmir Dam is built on Wular lake Also known as Wular barrage. |
| Uri project | On Jhelum in Jammu & Kashmir |