Wanderlust World Wanderlust World The Kishanganga Dam (also spelled Kishenganga) is a concrete gravity dam on the Kishanganga River (known as the Neelum River in Pakistan) in Jammu & Kashmir, India.
Type: Gravity dam (concrete). Height: 37m. Length: 157m. Power station: 3 × 110 MW = 330 MW installed capacity. Commissioned: 2018 (after delays).
The dam diverts Kishanganga water through a 23.5 km tunnel to the Jhelum River basin (Wular Lake) for power generation—an inter-basin transfer that reduces downstream flow into Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The Kishanganga/Neelum is a Jhelum tributary—allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). India claims non-consumptive use (hydropower) is permitted. Pakistan objected; the Court of Arbitration (2013) allowed the project but mandated minimum environmental flows (9 m³/s) downstream.
The dam exemplifies hydro-politics in the Indus basin: upstream infrastructure, downstream anxiety, treaty interpretation, and climate pressure on shared waters. Its operation remains a diplomatic flashpoint.