The Jammu and Kashmir government is set to resume work on the long-stalled Wular barrage project on the Jhelum River, nine months after putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance following the Pahalgam terror attack.
As per the officials, the construction on the barrage, also known as the Tulbul Navigation Project, will restart shortly in coordination with the Centre. The project, aimed at regulating water storage and ensuring year-round navigation on the Jhelum, has remained in limbo for nearly four decades.
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With India no longer considering itself bound by the 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank, authorities say infrastructure projects on the western rivers, Jhelum, Chenab and Indus, can now move forward without seeking Pakistan’s concurrence.
The decision has rekindled hope among local communities dependent on Wular Lake for their livelihood. Imtiyaz Ahmad, a fisherman from the region, said shrinking water levels during winter have left many without work.
“Our livelihood depends on water in Wular. We lose our livelihood when there is little or no water in Wular. When the government stores water, it will revive the livelihood of fishermen,” he said.
Seasonal fluctuations in the Jhelum’s discharge cause Wular Lake’s surface area to vary dramatically, from about 20 sq km to nearly 190 sq km. In recent years, siltation and reduced inflows have led to receding waters, affecting fishing as well as the harvesting of water chestnuts and lotus stems in villages such as Ningli in Sopore.
Work on the barrage began in 1984 but was halted in 1989 amid rising militancy. Construction resumed in 2010, only to be suspended again in 2012 after terrorists targeted the project site at Ningli in Sopore.
Pakistan has consistently opposed the Wular barrage, arguing that regulating flows on the Jhelum could enable India to manipulate downstream water availability. Under the Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan was granted primary rights over the waters of the three western rivers.
Following the April terror attack in Pahalgam, India suspended the treaty and declared it would maximise utilisation of waters from the Indus system within its territory. Pakistan responded by warning that stopping river flows would be treated as an act of war.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly that the government is working with the Centre on two major projects previously stalled due to treaty constraints.
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“Since the Indus Waters Treaty is kept in abeyance, we are working with the central government on two projects. One is the lift water supply scheme at Akhnoor from the Chenab River and the second is the Tulbul navigation project for the Jhelum. Both proposals are under process. I believe work on both projects will start very soon,” Abdullah said.
He added that earlier attempts to draw drinking water from the Chenab at Akhnoor for Jammu city had faced hurdles, including funding challenges linked to treaty provisions.
Apart from the Wular barrage, India has also fast-tracked several hydroelectric projects on the Chenab River, as design and height clearances from Pakistan are no longer required under the suspended agreement.
The resumption of the Wular project marks a significant step in India’s push to maximise water utilisation in Jammu and Kashmir while reviving local livelihoods dependent on the lake and river system.