Himachal floods: BBMB releases 10,000 cusecs of water from Pong Dam into Beas river

BBMB held a technical committee meeting in Chandigarh with Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi to work out a strategy for controlled release of water

The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on Wednesday released 10,000 cusecs of water from Pong Dam into the Beas river to offset the surplus inflow into the reservoir.

Locals walk along the eroded riverbank damaged by the swollen Beas river following heavy monsoon rains in Himachal Pradesh. (PTI Photo)

Board officials said the river has enough carrying capacity so the amount of water released would not flood any area downstream.

Upstream of the dam, however, the river is still receiving around 80,000 cusecs of water on a daily basis. The officials said that they decided to go for controlled release of water with the dam being two-thirds full to capacity.

Owing to extremely heavy rainfall in the river catchment areas from Saturday to Monday, the reservoir is still receiving huge inflow of water.

The BBMB held a technical committee meeting in Chandigarh on Wednesday with partner states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi to work out a strategy for controlled release of water from the dams it manages.

Apart from the Pong Dam, the board controls the operation and maintenance of Bhakra Dam built over the Sutlej river.