Winter rains over north-west India falter, water level in 2 key dams slips below normal

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, March 1

As seasonal rains over north-west India during January-February falter, water level in two key dams located in the region has slipped below normal.

Rainfall has been deficient by 65 per cent in Punjab, 52 per cent in Haryana and 42 per cent in Himachal Pradesh in the first two months of the year, while the storage available at Bhakra and Thein Dams is lower by five and six per cent, respectively.

From January 1 till February 29, Punjab received 16.7 mm rain compared to the long period average of 47.4 mm for this period, according to data released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Haryana received 15.3 mm against the normal of 31.8 mm during the aforementioned period, while the hill state of Himachal Pradesh received 108.2 mm against the normal of 187.1 mm.

For the month of February, rainfall has been deficient by 43 per cent in Punjab and by 12 per cent in Haryana, whereas it is just on par in Himachal Pradesh, IMD data show.

The water level at the Bhakra dam, that lies on the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh, stood at 485.28 metres against the maximum permissible limit of 512.06 metres. This translated to the current storage being 34 per cent of its total capacity as compared to the past 10-year average of 39 per cent during this period, according to information released by the Central Water Commission (CWC) on February 29.

At Thein Dam that lies on the Ravi in Punjab, the water level was 502.59 metres against the upper limit of 527.91 metres, with the current storage being 32 per cent compared to the 10-year average of 38 per cent.

On the other hand, the situation at Pong Dam that lies on the Beas in Himachal is favourable with the present storage being 38 per cent as compared to the 10-year average of 34 per cent, according to CWC data.

The weatherman has predicted that fairly widespread to widespread light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning is very likely over the western Himalayan region till March 3.

Thereafter, under the influence of a fresh western disturbance, isolated to scattered rainfall and snowfall is also likely over the western Himalayan region on February 5 and 6. Besides hail at some places, the region will also experience strong winds.