Will continue to release excess water for 4-5 days, says BBMB officials

According to officials, Bhakra Dam received inflow of 45,509 cusecs and 68,844 cusecs of water was released on Wednesday as the water level in the reservoir is rising fast and touched 1,677 feet, three feet short of the maximum capacity of 1,680 feet

Due to the heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the Pong Dam on the Beas river and Bhakra-Nangal Dam on the Sutlej continued to receive heavy inflow on Wednesday, posing a threat to districts downstream in Punjab.

Bhakra Dam received inflow of 45,509 cusecs and 68,844 cusecs of water was released on Wednesday as the water level in the reservoir is rising fast and touched 1,677 feet, three feet short of the maximum capacity of 1,680 feet

According to officials, Bhakra Dam received inflow of 45,509 cusecs and 68,844 cusecs of water was released on Wednesday as the water level in the reservoir is rising fast and touched 1,677 feet, three feet short of the maximum capacity of 1,680 feet.

With many areas inundated in Punjab following the release of excess water from dams, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which manages both Bhakra and Pong Dams on Wednesday said it will release excess water in a controlled manner for the next four to five days more to take the water in reservoirs to a safe level.

In Pong Dam, the water level touched 1,399 feet, which is nine feet more than the capacity, as the reservoir continued to receive an inflow of 65,300 cusecs. At both dams, floodgates were opened two days ago, as 1.25 lakh cusecs of water was flowing from Pong Dam and about 30,000 cusecs from Bhakra Dam.

According to Satish Singla, the secretary at Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the situation is being monitored constantly.

The Punjab government has already sounded a red alert in districts downstream, including Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, and Tarn Taran.

He added that water levels in Bhakra and Pong dams stand at 1,677 feet and 1,398 feet respectively on Wednesday.

“We have a plan that with the controlled release (of water) in the next four-five days, we will take it (water) to a safe level so that if any situation of flood arises again in August or September, we should have space (for absorbing the excess water in dams) to protect the downstream areas,” Singla said.

Singla said that the BBMB had informed the Punjab government at least 24 hours before the opening of the floodgates.

The official said that the BBMB authorities released 1.40 lakh cusecs despite receiving an unprecedented inflow of 7.30 lakh cusecs in the Pong Dam. “Today also, we are releasing 1.40 lakh cusecs of water as we want to attain safe level (in the dam) as soon as possible,” he said, adding that 80,000 cusecs of water was presently being discharged from the Bhakra Dam. With inputs from PTI