‘India’s water used to go outside, it’ll now…’: PM on Indus Waters Treaty

New Delhi, : Waters from India’s rivers will now be used for the country’s interests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday evening, speaking on the government’s
intention to curb the flow of water to Pakistan amid escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. “India’s water earlier used to go outside; it will now be used for India’s interests and will be utilised for the country,” PM Modi said without naming
Pakistan in the course of his address at a conclave organised by ABP network. “Bharat ka paani, Bharat ke haq mein bahe ga (India’s water will now flow for India),” he said.PM Modi’s statement comes against the backdrop of the government taking steps to cut off water flow to Pakistan from the Baglihar dam on the Chenab river and preparations to taper down runoffs from the Kishanganga project on the Jhelum.India has paused the sixdecade-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, already strained by long-running disputes, after terrorists killed dozens of tourists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April
22.Ever since, government officials have said earlier, the government had been exploring
ways to use the river waters for the benefit of Indians. The Indus treaty, mediated by the World Bank allocates water from six rivers – the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej – between India and Pakistan. The  prime minister also said that the government in the last 10 years has taken several tough decisions that were in the national interest
but were not implemented by previous governments due to a lack of political will. “To take big decisions, to achieve our goals, it  is important that we put the country’s interests at the top…Unfortunately, for decades, the thought process was otherwise, and the country suffered a lot. There was a time when, before taking any big decision, before taking any big step, it used to be said what will the world think. For various reasons, such as votebank politics, et cetera, big reforms and big decisions were put on hold.
No country can progress this way,” he said.The prime minister said a country moves forward when decisions are only based on one parameter – the nation first. “In the last one decade, India has followed this policy of nation first and today we are seeing the
results. In the last 10-11 years, the government has taken big decisions one after the other that had been put on hold,” he said. Asserting that “democracy can deliver”, he reiterated in the last one decade, 25 crore people have been pulled out of poverty and the whole world got the message that democracy can deliver. The attack has brought the
international community rallying behind India. The matter has resonated in the
United Nations as well, which has taken Pakistan to task. The country is now preparing for an unprecedented civil defence security drill tomorrow to  “train civilians and students foreffective civil defence in the event of a hostile attack”.

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