The abrupt reduction in Chenab River water flow has left thousands of Pakistani farmers in crisis. In the Punjab province, one of Pakistan’s most agriculturally productive regions, farmers rely heavily on the Chenab for irrigating crops such as wheat, sugarcane, and rice. With water levels falling due to India’s sediment-flushing operations at the Baglihar Dam, irrigation channels are drying up, and crop stress is already visible.
Local farmers, many of whom work small plots and lack access to modern irrigation technology, are particularly vulnerable. “We have no backup water source,” says Muhammad Aslam, a farmer near Sialkot. “If the Chenab stops, we starve.” Agricultural unions report a 40% reduction in water availability in some areas, raising fears of food shortages and income loss.
Pakistan’s government has condemned the water cuts and pledged to escalate the issue at the international level. But for the farmers on the ground, diplomatic processes offer little immediate relief. Experts warn that a prolonged water reduction during planting season could severely impact yields and push food prices upward — an outcome Pakistan’s fragile economy cannot afford.
India, for its part, maintains that the water stoppage is temporary and necessary for reservoir maintenance. Yet this explanation offers little comfort to Pakistani farmers facing a very real crisis. Calls are growing for India and Pakistan to establish a real-time, transparent water-sharing monitoring system to prevent surprise reductions.
This incident illustrates the deep link between geopolitics and food security. When upstream decisions are made without coordination, the downstream effects can be devastating — especially in agriculture-dependent countries. In the long term, both nations will need to invest in cooperative water governance or risk turning every dam into a diplomatic flashpoint.
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