GANGA 56th Issue | Page 2

of available water and damages ecosystems. present in the meeting. In this review India In addition, rapid change to inappropriate weighs options to give a proper reply to land use is often resulting in erosion in Pakistan in the wake of the Uri attack that upstream areas, flooding in downstream took lives of 18 soldiers. On 27th Sept. 2016 areas, and siltation in the river bed & Pakistan foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz reservoir. said against the backdrop of New Delhi’s The impact of climate change is severe to us decision to suspend water talks, that if India because its impact on global hydrologic revokes the Indus Waters Treaty, which cycle is profound. The time has come to would be tantamount to an “act of war”, and treat water as an object of nourishment of Pakistan can approach the UN and the life by all human being. It cannot be treated International Court of Justice. as a commodity to satisfy insatiable human A jittery Pakistan sent high level delegation greed. National water policy must be led by the attorney general of Pakistan, formulated keeping in mind the same. Ashtar Ausaf Ali to the World Bank headquarters in Washington to discuss treaty NEWS:Indus Water Dispute with Pakistan that was brokered by the organization to after Uri attack stop India from divert water from Indus The Uri attack has led India to find various river system. options to give Pakistan an appropriate This treaty is vital for Pakistan’s water lesson. The 56 years old Indus water treaty supply on which Pakistan’s agriculture and between India and Pakistan is one such tool economy is surviving, diversion of water which India wants to revisit so that Pakistan will have severe effect on Pakistan. cannot get maximum benefit from the treaty Ganga polluted with heavy metals and and provide support to the terrorists. Prime pesticides Minister Modi warned Pakistan, said “Blood According to a recent report by the and water cannot flow together”. Prime CPCB on contamination of Ganga, the Minister Narendra Modi on 26 Sept. 2016 river water has the presence of bacterial chaired a meeting to review the Indus Water contamination Treaty with Pakistan, National Security pollutants th Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, the Water Resources Secretary, and senior PMO officials were like besides traces of heavy metals and pesticides. There are nearly 1072 highly polluting industries between Hardwar 2 Integrated River Basin Management Society