Shahpur Kandi Dam Reaches Target Operational Date — Ravi Waters Diverted from Pakistan

March 31, 2026 marked the target operational date for India's Shahpur Kandi Dam on the Ravi River, confirmed by J&K Jal Shakti Minister Javed Ahmed Rana in February 2026. The 55.5-metre dam (206 MW) in Pathankot, Punjab, diverts surplus Ravi River waters to irrigate over 37,000 hectares in Kathua and Samba districts of J&K — waters that previously flowed unused into Pakistan. The dam's operationalization is a direct consequence of India's April 2025 suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. Under the IWT, India had historically left much of the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej flow unused, sending it downstream to Pakistan; the IWT suspension removed that constraint. Pakistan had previously stated that any interruption of Ravi River flows 'would be considered acts of war,' and referred the IWT suspension to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which India rejected as outside the tribunal's jurisdiction.