Shimla, Aug 26 (IANS) Incessant heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has alarmingly increased the water level in the Pong and Bhakra dams, forcing authorities to release excess water that led to flooding in villages located downstream, a BBMB official said on Tuesday.

Located on the state’s border with Punjab, about 250 km from Shimla, the Pong dam serves the irrigation requirements of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The spillways of both dams have been opened to flush out excess water as a precautionary measure, an official of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which regulates the dam water, told IANS.

According to the BBMB official, a discharge of up to 50,000 cusecs from Pong is not treated as flooding the downstream.

“The outflow was 62,000 cusecs at 4 pm on August 25, while it rose to 66,000 cusecs by 6 pm. This morning at 5 a.m., the outflow was 68,000 cusecs, and finally it reached 75,000 cusecs at 9 am. The amount of water released can be increased further,” the official said, adding that an alert has been sounded as the discharge could affect villages and towns mainly in Punjab.

Seven villages in the Jawali area in Kangra district have been worst affected in the state as excess water released from the dam has entered houses and affected crops.

Continuous and regular spells of rainfall this monsoon have alarmingly increased the water level in both Pong and Bhakra. The water level in the Pong dam stood at 1,388.90 feet, whereas it was 1,667 feet in Bhakra, whose floodgates were opened for the first time in two years on August 19.

The last time Bhakra’s floodgates were opened was on August 13, 2023, when water levels had touched 1,672 feet.

At 1388.90 feet, inflow in the Pong dam was 250,957 cusecs while heavy rain continued.

The official data said the maximum capacity in the Bhakra dam is 1,702 feet, while the upper limit in the Pong dam reservoir is 1,393 feet.

Authorities said the water level in both the dams was higher this year compared to the previous year, as the southwest monsoon largely remained intensified over Himachal Pradesh.

The filling season of the two dams is likely to end by mid-September. While the Bhakra Dam is built on the Sutlej River, the Pong Dam is on the Beas River.

–IANS

vg/svn