Delegation of ICJ visits Kishanganga

According to sources, the delegation visited the Kishanganga hydropower and storage project. India is working day and night on the construction of Kishanganga project and plans to complete the project by February 2014.Pakistan has objected to Indias move to build Kishanganga hydropower and storage project through diversion of Neelum River and filed a petition in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Pakistan maintained that the project would not only deprive it of priority rights over the river but would also compromise generation capacity of a number of hydropower projects and agriculture in Pakistan.Pakistan says this violates Indus Water Treaty, whereas India says the diversion is within the provisions of the Treaty, which governs water sharing between the two countries.Kishanganga dam is located about 160 km upstream Muzzafarabad, and involves diversion of Kishanganga (called Neelum in Pakistan) to a tributary, named Bunar Madumati Nullah, of Jhelum river through a 22-km tunnel.The powerhouse will be constructed near Bunkot in Indian held Kashmir, and the water will be re-routed into the river Jhelum through Wullar Lake.This diversion will change the course of River Neelum by around 100 km, which will finally join river Jhelum through Wullar Lake near Bandipur town of Baramula district in Indian held Kashmir.At present, Neelam and Jhelum rivers join each other near Muzaffarabad, at Domail.As a consequence of this 100 km diversion of the Neelum river, Pakistans Neelum Valley is likely to dry up and become a desert.