Security agencies step up vigil at dams, headworks
Security agencies have stepped up vigil at key dams and headworks in the region keeping in view the emerging security situation after India put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance as a retaliatory step against Pakistan following the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people on April 22.
According to sources, a general alert has been issued to guard against any untoward incident that may be triggered by inimical elements.
“The dams themselves may be resilient to terror attacks but the possibility of peripheral structures, transmission lines, minor installations or even employees being targeted cannot be ruled out," a senior officer said.
“More than any physical damage, it is the psychological impact or even a small incident that matters," he added.
Sources have also pointed out to several recent incidents of grenades being hurled at police stations and other places in Punjab, as well as the constant recovery of weapons near the International Border in Punjab that are beliived to be dropped by drones from Pakistan, necessitating the need for enhanced security measures as India and Pakistan lock horns over the terror incident.
The enhanced vigil at dams comes when the security forces, especially the Border Security Force that is responsible for the peacetime management of the India-Pakistan border are on heightened alert, and the Air Force and several Army formations are engaged in their routine field exercises.
There are three major dams in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
Bhakra and Pong lie on the Sutlej and Beas, respectively, in Himachal Pradesh, and Thein lies on the Ravi in Punjab. In addition, there are several, power houses, barrages and headworks down stream of the dams as well as on the numerous canals and water that form an irrigation network in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Some of the barrages like the ones at Ferozepur and Madhopur are situated close to the International Border. The dams, barrages and canals control and regulate the flow of water from the aforementioned three rivers and ultimately, only a miniscule volume of water from these rivers is allowed to flow into Pakistan.
Under the IWT, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, India had exclusive rights over the use of waters from these three rivers. Under the terms of the treaty, most of the water from the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers that flow through Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, goes to Pakistan.
The Bhakra, Pong and Thein dams are high value strategic assets. These have a combined hydro-power generation capacity of 2,375 megawatts and irrigation potential of 10,24,000 hectares. In addition, the Kol Dam, upstream of the Bhakra, has a hydro-power capacity of 800 MW and there are several other run-of the-water hydel projects on rivers in Himachal as well as in Jammu and Kashmir.
Hydel power projects in Jammu and Kashmir were already under heavy security cover because of the terrorist threat.
The intelligence agencies keep a close watch on the threat perception regarding these installations and in the past there have been several occasions when alerts warning against possible terror strikes have been issued.
The respective police forces of the states in which these projects are located is responsible for guarding these establishments and monitoring approach routes. Beginning with the Beas-Sutlej link, a canal connecting these rivers in Himachal, the Central Industrial Security Force will be replacing the state police forces.
Over the past few years, the security measures at these dams have also been beefed up, with additional manpower being deployed and protective gadgets and access control equipment being installed, sources said.
Punjab