NEW DELHI: India has issued fresh flood risk alerts to Pakistan, warning of a “high probability” of flooding in the Tawi river after heavy and continuous rainfall in the north forced the release of excess water from major dams, sources told PTI on Wednesday.Officials said the alerts, sent through the ministry of external affairs, were shared on “humanitarian grounds”. This comes at a time when ties between the two countries have remained tense since the Pahalgam terror attack four months ago.The first alert was sent on Monday, followed by two more on Tuesday and Wednesday.”We issued another alert yesterday (Tuesday) and one today (Wednesday) of high probability of flooding in the Tawi river. The gates of some dams had to be opened due to excessive rains being witnessed in Indian regions,” a source said.The Tawi river, which rises in the Himalayas, flows through Jammu before merging with the Chenab in Pakistan. India had suspended the routine exchange of hydrological data under the Indus Waters Treaty after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. But officials stressed the flood warnings were shared to help prevent loss of life and property across the border. In Pakistan’s Punjab province, more than 1.5 lakh people have been evacuated after water released from overflowing dams in India caused fears of “very high to exceptionally high” flooding. Rising water levels forced authorities to open sluice gates of key reservoirs, officials said.The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, continues to regulate river water sharing between the two countries.
