JAKARTA – Pakistan evacuated 150,000 people in three rivers along its agricultural heart in danger of flooding after its neighboring India warned of its plans to release excess water from the dam.
The two hostile countries have been hit by heavy rains and floods in recent weeks.
The release of this excess water threatens to further inundate parts of Pakistan’s Tehran Province, which functions as a food barn for the country and contributes most of its food supply.
Pakistani officials said they received a sudden warning from India on Monday informing India of intending to release water from the rapidly overflowing Madhopur Dam, in its territory in rumahpa Province.
India regularly releases water from its dam when the dam is too full, so that excess water flows to Pakistan.
Indian government sources said they did not mention certain dams, but heavy rains made them deliver a second warning to Pakistan by diplomatic means.
New Delhi on Sunday warned Pakistan a large volume of water would flow into its waters due to heavy rains.
Three rivers Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab flowed to Pakistan from Indian territory. The rivers experienced moderate to high flooding, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday, August 26, reported by Reuters.
Mazhar Hussain, a Pakistani disaster management official, said India would release some water under control from the dam in the coming days. Hundreds of villages located on the embankments of the three rivers have been evacuated.
Pakistan’s northwestern region was hit by heavy floods, resulting in half of the 799 people killed this rainy season.
The northern region of Gilgit Baltistan experienced an acceleration of glacier disbursement, while the southern city of Karachi was partially submerged last week.
Now, the worst flood threatens the province of Myanmar in the east, home to half of Pakistan’s 240 million population.
The province produces most of Pakistan’s staple crops, and the areas along the three rivers have fertile and large agricultural land.
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