Fact Check: Old Video Of Odisha’s Hirakud Dam Falsely Linked To Indus Water Treaty Suspension

New Delhi (Vishvas News).  In the aftermath of the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan. Now, a video of a dam is going viral on social media, claiming that water being denied to Pakistan has caused the dam to overflow. 

Vishvas News investigated the viral claim and found it to be fake. The viral video shows the Hirakud Dam in Odisha.  

What is in the viral post?

Instagram user sachin_ambani_0 shared the video on April 27, 2025 (archive link) and taking a dig at the Indian government’s decision, he wrote “India faced humiliation in front of Pakistan, they could not stop the dam water. Due to lack of arrangements, water started overflowing.”

The reel had garnered nearly 3.6 million views at the time of writing this fact check.

Investigation

To verify the viral claim, we extracted the key frames from the video and searched online using Google Lens. Instagram user saini_top_models_mp31 shared the viral video on April 11, 2025, claiming it to be of ‘Hirakud Dam’.

This video was also shared on ‘The Life Of Travel’ YouTube channel on January 4, 2025, claiming it to be of Hirakud Dam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFNF00NJ-R4

Other videos related to this dam can also be seen on this channel.

The Odisha TV website also confirms the structure as the Hirakud Dam.

Additional visual confirmation came from other videos posted by content creators Subhayan Banik and Mithilesh Yadav, both showcasing the same dam.

According to the information given on the website of the Government of India, Hirakud Dam has been built on the Mahanadi in Sambalpur city of Odisha. 

According to a report published in News18 on 27 April 2025, “After the Pahalgam attack, the central government has suspended the Indus Water Treaty. This treaty was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 under the mediation of the World Bank. Under this, it was decided to share the water of the Indus River and its tributaries. India has been given control over the water of the eastern rivers, Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej, and Pakistan has been given control over the water of the western rivers i.e., Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum. 80 percent of Pakistan’s agriculture depends on the Indus basin.”

One can also read about the Indus Water Treaty signed in 1960 on the website of the Ministry of External Affairs.

According to a news article published on Aaj Tak’s website on April 25, “Union Minister of Jal Shakti, CR Patil has said that the decision taken under the Indus Water Treaty will be implemented in three phases – immediate, mid and long term. Earlier, the central government had issued a formal notification suspending the treaty. It said that the treaty is being put on hold, thereby effectively suspending all treaty obligations, including meetings between Indus commissioners, data sharing and advance notice of new projects. After this, India is free to build dams on the river without Pakistan’s permission or consultation.”

To further verify, Vishvas News contacted Radhey Shyam, a Dainik Jagran reporter in Sambalpur. After reviewing the video, he confirmed it was indeed footage of the Hirakud Dam and unrelated to any developments concerning the Indus Water Treaty.

We scanned the profile of the user who made the false claim by linking the video of Odisha’s Hirakud dam to the Indus Water Treaty. The user has posted some controversial posts taking a dig at India.

Conclusion: While the Indian government has suspended the Indus Water Treaty following the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the viral video claiming that dam water is now being released as a result is false. The video is from Hirakud Dam in Odisha.

Tags

• Indus Water Treaty
• Pahalgam attack
• What is Indus Water Treaty