Pakistan warns of dangerous situation over water issues
Islamabad, May 25: Pakistan warned on Friday that water issues with India can lead to a dangerous situation and that Islamabad wants a peaceful resolution of such problems as per the spirit of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal, during the weekly media briefing, said the World Bank has assured that the international agreement will not be breached.
He said Islamabad has been effectively raising the issue of India's Kishanganga project to resolve it through a dispute resolution mechanism provided by the pact.
Lately, Pakistan sent a four-member delegation to the World Bank in Washington to raise the issue of the inauguration of the Kishanganga hydropower plant by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which it said was in violation of the agreement.
Pakistan has opposed the project as it "violates a World Bank-mediated treaty" on the sharing of waters from the Indus and its tributaries upon which 80 per cent of its irrigated agriculture depends.
New Delhi claims that the treaty allows it to build "run-of-river" hydel projects that do not change the course of the river and do not deplete the water level downstream.
Disagreeing with the Indian interpretation, Islamabad said that the Kishanganga project not only violates the course of the river but also depletes its water level.
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Online learning in schools up to Class 5 in view of rising pollution, says Delhi CM Atishi
New Delhi, Nov 14: All schools up to Class 5 in Delhi will switch to online learning till further directions in view of rising pollution levels in the city, Chief Minister Atishi said on Thursday.
With pollution reaching alarming levels, the central pollution watchdog CAQM imposed restrictions under GRAP Stage III in Delhi-NCR earlier on Thursday.
The national capital's air quality remained in the 'severe' category for a second consecutive day, prompting the authorities to impose the stringent anti-pollution measures.
The restrictions will come into force from Friday.
"Due to rising pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will be shifting to online classes, until further directions," Atishi, who also holds the education portfolio, said in a post on X.
Measures under the third stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) announced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) include shifting schools up to Class 5 to online mode.
GRAP for the National Capital Region (NCR) is classified under four different stages of adverse air quality in Delhi: Stage I -- 'poor' (AQI 201-300); Stage II -- 'very poor' (AQI 301-400); Stage III -- 'severe' (AQI 401-450); and Stage IV -- 'severe plus' (AQI >450).
Due to rising pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will be shifting to online classes, until further directions.
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) November 14, 2024
