Sutlej water floods several villages as BBMB releases water into river, district administration seeks army help

Nangal, August 16

As the water level in Gobind Sagar lake, the reservoir of the Bhakra dam, reached near its optimum capacity of 1,680 feet, the Bhakra Beas Management Board is likely to release more water by evening making the flood situation in area more grim.

In order to cope with the situation, the district administration has requisitioned two units of army and two more units of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Four units of NDRF are still deployed in the flood-affected villages since Tuesday when water had entered Bela Dhiani, Bela Ramgarh, Harsa Bela, Palasi, Bhanam, Bhalan, Sainsowal, Gohlani, Passiwal Dasgrain, Jindwairi, Swaarrah, Taraf Majari, Mehndli Kalan, Dolowaal, Ballowal, Hariwal, Amarpur Bela, Shahpur Bela and Chandpur Bela. 

These villages had faced the floods even last month when the region was lashed by torrential rains in the second week of July.

Due to incessant rain in the catchment area of Bhakra dam in Himachal Pradesh the water level in the lake had increased to 1677.91 feet on Tuesday morning when the inflow of water into the reservoir was recorded at 1,03,000 cusecs. Following this, the BBMB authorities released one lakh cusecs of water out of which 77,400 cusecs was released into the Sutlej leading to floods.

With this the water level in the reservoir was reduced a little and on Tuesday morning it was recorded at 1677.7 feet. Meanwhile, the inflow was also reduced to 76,898 cusecs and the BBMB released 83,703 cusecs from turbines out of which 47,400 cusecs was discharged into the Sutlej while the remaining was diverted to the two canals or stored at Nangal dam.

Meanwhile, the district administration started rescue operation and evacuated nearly 250 people till Wednesday morning from the affected villages, including 17 from Harsa Bela and Dulchi Patti who were stuck at the roofs of their houses.

Ropar Deputy Commissioner Preeti Yadav could be seen going to affected areas and appealing to the people to move to safer places cautioning them that the water level can increase in the night. She said two units of army and two more units of NDRF have been requisitioned.

Local MLA and minister Harjot Singh Bains, who had been camping in area since Tuesday, said water in many villages had started receding after the BBMB reduced the discharge of water into the Sutlej. The situation is under control and further there would be a controlled release of water from the dam which would not create any floods, he added.