Thaindian News

Shimla, Sep 14 (IANS) Water was released from Himachal Pradesh’s Pong dam into the Beas river Tuesday morning as it was near the danger mark in the reservoir. This is the first time in 15 years that the spillways were opened as a precautionary measure.
Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) chief engineer V.N. Goel told IANS over telephone that the water level in the reservoir was 1,394.25 ft Tuesday at 10 a.m. against Monday’s 1,392.42 ft. The dam can store water upto 1,395 ft against the danger mark of 1,390 ft.

“We have released around 33,000 cusecs water, including 18,000 cusecs through normal operation of turbines, at 9 a.m. The current inflow is over 65,000 cusecs,” he said.

The Pong Dam is located in Himachal Pradesh, along the Punjab border, about 250 km from the state capital.

“There is no need for panic as we have released only 15,000 cusecs additional water. Up to 50,000 cusecs, it’s not treated as flooding in the downstream. We have released the water just as a precautionary measure,” Goel said.

According to him, if there is continuous rainfall in the catchment of the reservoir, then more water would be released.

Meanwhile, BBMB officials said the authorities in Punjab have been alerted as water released would directly affect most of the villages located downstream.

One of the largest man-made wetlands in northern India, the Pong dam reservoir is spread over an area of 41 km with a maximum width of 19 km in Himachal Pradesh. It came into existence after the construction of a dam on the Beas river in 1975.

It fufils the irrigation water requirements of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Sources in the BBMB said the water from Pong dam was discharged after consulting the Bhakra dam authorities as the released waters of both the Bhakra and Pong could damaged the Harike barrage near Punjab’s Ferozepore town.

“If the water is simultaneously released from both the dams, it could damage the Harike barrage,” they said.