The water secretaries of India and Pakistan on Tuesday opened tough negotiations to resolve the two-decade-old differences over Wullar barrage/Tulbul navigation project on river Jhelum in India-controlled Kashmir.

The talks were held here in a cordial atmosphere and satisfactory, Indian Water Resources Secretary J Hari Narayan told reporters on Tuesday at the end of the first day of the two-day talks.

He said a joint statement is expected to be issued Wednesday after conclusion of the 10th round of parleys.

While Hari Narayan is leading the Indian delegation at the talks, the eight-member Pakistani delegation was headed by its Water and Power Secretary Ashfaq Mahmood.

However, the two sides failed to narrow down their differences after the day-long discussions with both sides sticking to their positions.

The Wullar barrage/Tulbul navigation project is one of the eight issues to be covered by the composite dialogue process underway between the two countries.

The dispute relates to construction of the barrage by India to retain enough water level in Jhelum river for a 20-km navigational route between Baramullah and Wullar in India-controlled Kashmir.

The last round of talks was held in Islamabad in July last year, nearly six years after the previous round.

Work to build the barrage on Wullar lake in Baramulla district of India-controlled Kashmir began in 1984, but it was halted three years later after Pakistan raised objections to it, dubbing it as a violation of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.

Pakistan claims that the water flow in the lake would be obstructed once the barrage is constructed. India dismisses the Pakistani objection, arguing that the project is not aimed at storing water but to maintain better water-level during the lean season between October and February.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2005)