Blood and water can’t flow together: LG Sinha

Jammu, Jul 19: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday said India had made it clear that blood and water cannot flow together, terror and talk cannot go together, and terror and trade cannot happen together.

Launching a monograph, ‘Indus Water Treaty-Mirroring the Facts’ authored by Sant Kumar Sharma in Jammu, LG Sinha said, “Termination of Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a befitting response to Pakistan, which will have far-reaching consequences as it was dependent on the Indus River system.”

He congratulated the author on his work to bring out various historical aspects of IWT.

The LG said that the thoughtful and timely monograph offers interesting insights on IWT with Pakistan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decisive move to terminate the treaty post Pahalgam terror attack.

He said the historic step had marked a new beginning and reiterated the Centre’s commitment to utilise India’s water exclusively for the benefit of its citizens.

“India’s water will now flow within India and remain in India. With the termination of IWT, we now have full control over the Jhelum and Chenab rivers,” LG Sinha said.

He said that the termination of IWT would ensure immense benefits to J&K, which would be able to harness its real hydropower potential, the barren areas of Jammu could be irrigated, and there would be new momentum in the development of infrastructure in J&K.

The LG said India would now create infrastructure, power plants, and diversion to new areas with proper infrastructure to use the water, and it would enable the construction of new reservoirs.

Citing the debate in the Parliament in November 1960, he said that the statements of prominent leaders in the house also observed that IWT was a historical mistake, unfair, one-sided, and hampered infrastructure development in J&K, restricting the growth of development projects.

LG Sinha also paid tribute to the civilians killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

He also reiterated his resolve to honour and deliver justice to the terror victims of J&K.

“No terror victim families will be left behind. It is being ensured that family members, who have been waiting for justice for decades, will receive jobs, financial assistance, and necessary handholding. Their culprits will not be spared. The properties of terror victims which were encroached by terrorists or terror sympathisers will be vacated soon,” he said.

Author Sant Kumar Sharma and Anuradha Sharma, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) member Ashok Bhan, former Vice Chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Prof B K Kuthiala and Chairman Team Jammu, Zorawar Singh Jamwal, were also present at the launch ceremony.