Himachal: Bhakra Dam floodgates opened, likely to inundate villages

Chandigarh, Aug 19 After the Pong dam, floodgates of the Bhakra dam were opened on Tuesday for the first time in this season after heavy rains in catchment areas had alarmingly increased the water level in the reservoir, a senior official of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) that regulates both dams said.

Scores of villages in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh located along the swollen Satluj and Beas rivers may be inundated with the opening of the floodgates of the Bhakra dam as the inflow in the reservoirs has alarmingly increased owing to torrential rains in the catchment, mainly in the hill state.

“For the next few days, the controlled release of water from the floodgates of both Bhakra and Pong dams would continue to keep the water in the reservoirs at a safe level,” a BBMB official told the media here.

He said that the board is continuously monitoring the situation.

“With the heavy rainfall in the past week, the water inflow in both dams was alarmingly high. The management has decided to release excess water through the floodgates to ensure the safety of the dams,” he said.

Both dams serve the irrigation requirements of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The water level at the Bhakra Dam reservoir was 1,665 feet, with the water level is 35 feet higher than the same time last year. The water inflow is over 70,500 cusecs, up from 43,500 cusecs last year, said officials.

Likewise, in the Pong Dam, built over the Beas river, the current water level is 1,382 feet, 28 feet higher than last year’s.

The water inflow is 1.29 lakh cusecs, said officials, adding that 18,000 cusecs of water is being released from the dam to manage the levels.

Another one, the Ranjit Sagar Dam, built over the Ravi river, has the water of 1,712 feet, up from 1,707 feet of last year. The water inflow in the reservoir is 41,300 cusecs, significantly higher than last year’s 12,300 cusecs.

Meanwhile, state Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal presided over a virtual meeting to review the ongoing flood situation across affected districts.

The meeting included Deputy Commissioners of Hoshiarpur, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala, Ferozepur and Fazilka districts along with all Executive Engineers (XENs) and Superintending Engineers (SEs) of the Drainage Department.

Goyal directed to maintain uncompromising vigilance along all rivers' embankments round-the-clock. He said continuous rainfall in the upper catchment areas of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has resulted in elevated water levels across the state’s river systems, necessitating heightened alert measures.

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