BBMB reduced fury of floods in Punjab & Haryana; Bhakra have 40 percent, Pong have 31 percent vacant capacity
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ July 12,2023
As on 12.07.2023, the water level in Bhakra Dam is elevation (EL) 1628.72 feet and the water level in Pong Dam is elevation (EL) 1363.96 ft as against Full Reservoir Level of EL 1680 feet and EL 1390 feet respectively.
During the past 4 days’ torrential rains have caused lot of devastation in Punjab, Haryana & Himachal Pardesh.
However, BBMB has successfully absorbed entire flood water that originated in the rivers Satluj and Beas in its Bhakra and Pong Dams respectively.
In Bhakra Dam, a staggering 4,45,037 cusec days (1088 Million Cubic Meters) of water was absorbed and in Pong Dam about 6,25,554 cusec days (1530 Million Cubic Meters) of water was absorbed.
These colossal volumes of water was stored within the reservoirs, preventing further escalation of floodwaters downstream.
This effort has significantly reduced the fury of floods in the states of Punjab & Haryana. Nand Lal Sharma, Chairman, BBMB intimated that due to this extraordinary influx of water in Dams, the water level in Bhakra Dam has risen by 22.1 feet and in Pong Dam the level has risen by 25.09 feet in the past 4 days.
However, the position of these reservoirs is still comfortable as we still have about 40% vacant capacity in Bhakra Dam and about 31% vacant capacity in Pong Dam. He further stated that the monsoon season has just started and will continue till September end and in order to be prepared for any such eventuality in future, BBMB may have to increase releases from its dams in a controlled manner in the days to come. In this regard, a communication has been sent to the concerned authorities vide BBMB letter dated 11.07.2023 to remain prepared, however appropriate action shall be taken in consultation with the Governments of Punjab & Haryana after the flood waters recede and situation in the downstream areas of Punjab & Haryana normalises.
Chairman, BBMB further intimated that today i.e, on 12.07.2023 a special meeting of Technical Committee of BBMB was called which was attended by the representatives of partner states including Principal Secretary/Water Resources Deptt., Govt, of Punjab and Chief Engineers from the Water Resources Departments of Haryana & Rajasthan.
During the meeting, the position of BBMB Dams was reviewed and the position of water logging in the downstream areas of Punjab & Haryana was also discussed.
After due deliberations, it was decided that no excess water shall be released from BBMB Dams till the situation in the downstream areas of Punjab & Haryana normalises and day to day coordination with Punjab authorities will be maintained in this regard.
It was further decided that the matter will be reviewed after 3-4 days and further action shall be taken accordingly. He further stated that as the custodian of Bhakra and Pong dams, BBMB has continuously strived to optimize the management of water resources, particularly during extreme weather events. The recent torrential rains and subsequent floods posed a grave threat to the regions of Punjab and Haryana.
However, through proactive measures and diligent planning, BBMB successfully absorbed the tremendous inflow of water in rivers Satluj and Beas, thereby averting a potential catastrophe and safeguarding countless lives and properties.
He further clarified that some fake videos and rumours are circulating on the social media groups regarding release of water from Bhakra Dam during the recent floods in the states of Punjab & Haryana. In this regard, he clarified that BBMB has not released any water over and above the water requirement of BBMB partner states, during this period. Neither any flood gates have been opened at Bhakra or Pong Dams nor any situation is envisaged in near future.
BBMB reduced fury of floods in Punjab & Haryana; Bhakra have 40 percent, Pong have 31 percent vacant capacity. He further assured that the situation is well under control and requested general public not to panic or believe in any kind of rumours.
