All set for grand Golden Jubilee celebrations of Pong Dam, Talwara
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ March 14,2025
The management of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has decided to celebrate the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Pong Dam , Talwara in Punjab in a grand way.
As per sources, the BBMB authorities are planning to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Pong Dam in the month of April 2025.
“Pong Dam was started in the year 1963 and dedicated to the nation on June 30, 1974. The Golden Jubilee year was 2024. But due to parliamentary elections, rainy season’s assembly elections in partners states Haryana, Delhi the celebrations were delayed. So, the board has decided to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Year and now a big function is planned probably in the month of April 2025” said an officer on the condition of anonymity.
A senior functionary of the BBMB said “the board is planning to decorate the plant, do lightning of the dam . The BBMB is going to invite around 5000 persons including the union power minister, jal shakti minister, chief ministers of partner states-Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh. Along with them, the partner state ministers of power, water resources, chief secretaries, power, water resources principal secretaries of partner states, heads of other power corporations like SJVNL, NTPC, NHPC, PFC etc, heads of water resources department, former employees who dedicated their life for the Pong Dam etc among other personalities”.
As per sources the board is also planning to honour the former employees of Pong Dam who dedicated their life for making this India’s prestigious dam which is 2 KM earth-fill embankment dam with highest volume used for construction of earthen dam category in India, situated on the Beas River in the state of Himachal Pradesh, just upstream of Talwara in Punjab.
Divulging further, a senior functionary of the board on the condition of anonymity said “the BBMB is also planning to give two months’ salary to its employees on this occasion. The board had also celebrated the golden jubilee of Bhakra Dam in 2013 in a grand way. At that time the employees were also honoured with rewards.”
When contacted the chief engineer Pong Dam Arun Sidana he said “the golden jubilee celebrations are already going on. We are planning a big event to mark the occasion at Talwara. The Chairman, BBMB is managing the event”.
All set for grand Golden Jubilee celebrations of Pong Dam, Talwara, Punjab .As the second phase of the Beas Project, construction on the dam began in 1963 and was completed in 1974. At the time of its completion, the Pong Dam was the tallest of its type in India. The lake created by the dam, Maharana Pratap Sagar, became a renowned bird sanctuary. The first power unit of Pong Dam was commissioned in January 1978 and the last unit (6th) was in October 1983.
){kind=link}