Slamming the centre’s move to divert the Chenab waters from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday strongly opposed the proposal saying, “I will never allow this to happen. Our first priority is the people of Jammu region who are facing a drought-like situation”.
Talking to media persons here, Omar Abdullah strongly opposed the centre’s move to construct a 113 km-long canal to divert the flow of the Chenab to the three northern states.
Omar said, “I will never permit this. Let us use our water for ourselves first. There is a drought-like situation in Jammu. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already had water under the Indus Water Treaty. Did they give us water from the Shahpur Kandi and Ujh projects when we needed it?”
The centre’s reported move has come following the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty by India after the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, including 25 tourists, were killed on 22 April. During an event in Madhya Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly said that the “Indus waters will be taken to Rajasthan’s Ganganagar through canals within three years.”
Omar stated that the surplus water from the Indus rivers should first be used to meet the needs of the J&K region before being diverted to other states.
Omar also called for the revival of the decades-old Tulbul Navigation Project in Kashmir, which was stalled under pressure from Pakistan due to the Indus Waters Treaty. He argued that resuming the project could enhance navigation on the Jhelum River and benefit the region’s power generation.
The Chief Minister said that the Cabinet had accepted the sub-committee’s report on rationalisation of reservation and sent it to the law department for their comments. He added that the sub-committee submitted the report within six months, and this was the first time such progress had been made.
“If I had to waste time, I would have given six more months to the sub-committee. What would they have done then? Did they have any way to force me to complete this report in 6 months?,” the CM asked.
He criticised PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and People’s Conference leader Sajjad Lone for trying to stir a controversy on the sub-committee report.
“When Mehbooba Mufti needed votes, she strictly banned her party members from even talking about reservation. When contesting elections from Anantnag and needing votes from Rajouri and Poonch, why did she not talk about reservation then?,” Omar asked.
“Sajjad Lone was close to the government for five years when all this was happening. We were evicted from our government houses, and our security was reduced, while he was sitting in a government house. Why did he not talk about the reservation then?,” he questioned.
While commenting on the ongoing war between Iran and Israel, Omar questioned Israel’s actions and expressed concern for the safety of stranded Indian students.
“What has Iran done that Israel has targeted it? It was said a few months back that Iran does not have any nuclear programme, so why is it now being targeted? Our students are also stranded there, 400 have been taken to safe places, 1600 is the total number of stranded students from J&K,” Omar said.