Irrigation Engineering
Class of F18-Batch
Unit 3: Indus River Basin & Indus River Treaty
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What is Indus River Basin? 2
• A river basin is the land that water flows across or under on its way to a
river.
• Just as a bathtub catches all of the water that falls within its sides, a
river basin sends all of the water falling within it to a central river and
out to an estuary or to the ocean.
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Video
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What is Indus River Basin? 6
• The Indus basin covers an area of about 1 million km2 (386,000 mi2) and
touches 4 countries (China, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan).
• From its source in the Tibetan plateau the Indus river initially flows
north west before bending south to flow south west through Pakistan to
the Arabian sea
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Video of Indus rivers
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What is Indus River Basin? - Video 20
Indus River Treaty 21
• The Indus Waters Treaty is a water
distribution treaty between India and Pakistan,
• The treaty was brokered by the World Bank (then the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development).
• The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by Indian Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan.
• According to this agreement, control over the three "eastern" rivers ( the
Beas, Ravi and Sutlej) was given to India and the three "western" rivers
(the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum) to Pakistan.
• More controversial, however, were the provisions on how the waters were
to be shared.
• Since Pakistan's rivers flow through India first, the treaty allowed India
to use them for irrigation, transport and power generation, while laying
down precise do's and don'ts for Indian building projects along the way.
Indus River Treaty 22
• The treaty was a result of Pakistani fear that since the source rivers of
the Indus basin were in India, it could potentially create droughts and
famines in Pakistan, especially at times of war.
• Since the ratification of the treaty in 1960, India and Pakistan have not
engaged in any water wars.
• Disagreements and disputes have been settled via legal procedures,
provided for within the framework of the treaty.
• The treaty is considered to be one of the most successful water-sharing
endeavors in the world today even though analysts acknowledge the need
to update certain technical specifications and expand the scope of the
document to include climate change.
Indus River Treaty 23
• According to this treaty, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, which constitute the
eastern rivers, are allocated for exclusive use by India before they enter
Pakistan.
• However, a transition period of 10 years was permitted in which India
was bound to supply water to Pakistan from these rivers until Pakistan
was able to build the canal system for utilization of waters of Jhelum,
Chenab and the Indus itself, allocated to it under the treaty.
• Similarly, Pakistan has exclusive use of the western rivers Jhelum,
Chenab and Indus. Pakistan also received one-time financial
compensation for the loss of water from the eastern rivers.
• Since March 31, 1970, after the 10-year moratorium, India has secured
full rights for use of the waters of the three rivers allocated to it.
• The treaty resulted in partitioning of the rivers rather than sharing of
their waters
The End
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