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Three dams full, Bhakra board calls meeting
Bhakra, Pong, Ranjit Sagar nearing danger mark
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 23
Northern dams are brimming. The Bhakra Dam is inching towards the maximum permissible level of 1,680 feet. (It is expected to cross the 1,674-feet mark by Monday night).

With nearly all rivers in spate, the inflow of water also continues to be high in the other two major reservoirs of the region — Pong in Himachal Pradesh and Ranjit Sagar in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. The water level in these dams is likely to rise further as the met office has predicted moderate to heavy rain in the next three days.

At Bhakra, the water level is going up by more than a foot per day. This is despite the fact that the authorities have opened all four floodgates by another two feet. Two days back, the floodgates were opened by four feet to release 16,000 cusecs of water into the Sutlej.

Now, with the six-foot opening, the release from the floodgates is 26,500 cusecs. Besides, 35,000 cusecs is also being released into the river from the powerhouse turbines, taking the total discharge to 61,000 cusecs. But the considering the fact that the inflow is still high — in the range of 70,000 to 80,000 cusecs — BBMB authorities have called a meeting for August 26 with its partner states to discuss all issues, including increasing the release of water.

The Pong Dam has attained the level of 1,375 feet that is 48 feet more than the level on the same day last year. The maximum permissible level at the dam is 1,390 feet. The dam is receiving a robust inflow (around 70,000 cusecs) due to widespread rains in Himachal Pradesh.

After many years, the Ranjit Sagar Dam is also witnessing a heightened filling. The dam recorded an inflow of 21,712 cusecs today. The water level here has gone up to 521.24 metres, just six metres short of the maximum filling mark.

Delhi-based met analyst Chattar Singh Malik told The Tribune that the current spell of rain would continue for the next three days following which there could be a lull for two days.

However, the Bhakra authorities are worried over the forecast of heavy rain in HP on August 28 and 29.

Meanwhile, Bathinda has received a good amount of rainfall, which will prove beneficial to crops. The rainfall was recorded between 50 and 60 mm in the Bathinda — Talwandi Sabo belt. The Jalandhar — Nakodar zone received 25 mm rain, while Phillaur got 35 mm of rainfall.