Centre clears Pakal Dul dam power link in J&K

Ahead of the forthcoming assembly polls, the state Congress has come up with a QR-based application system for ticket aspirants keen on fighting the forthcoming polls on the party ticket.

- Zia Haq

NEW DELHI: The Centre, on Tuesday, notified a power transmission system for the proposed 1,000mW Pakal Dul hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir, accelerating the commissioning process for what is set to become the biggest dam on the Indian side of the Indus River system.

The notification marks the first major step towards operationalising the dam since the project's launch in 2014. It comes after India unilaterally suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan on April 24, following the April 22 massacre of dozens of tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, by terrorists.

On Wednesday night, India also launched missile strikes on several sites in Pakistan amid rising bilateral tensions. Separately, last month, Union Jal Shakti (water resources) minister CR Patil said India would "ensure not a drop of water from the Indus rivers reaches Pakistan."

To be sure, Pakistan has long objected to the project.

Simultaneously, the state-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd, India's largest hydropower firm, has initiated reservoir flushing at the Salal and Baglihar dams. This is the first such operation at Baglihar since it became operational in 2008.