Security at Bhakra Dam up; police yet to spare manpower

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26

While the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is stepping up security at the strategically vital Bhakra Dam that lies on the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh, the state, which is a partner in providing the security cover, is unable to spare the requisite police personnel for the purpose.

“Personnel from both Himachal Pradesh and Punjab are deployed for security at the Bhakra-Nangal projects. The shortage of personnel to be provided by Punjab is about 45 per cent,” a senior BBMB officer said. “Against the requirement of 380 personnel, we currently have 190,” he said.

BBMB sources said after the Pathankot air base terror attack in January this year, security measures at the dam were reviewed and some additional steps were taken. “We held a meeting with the DIR, Ropar, recently to discuss the manpower situation. We are hopeful that our requirement will be met soon,” the officer said.

The Bhakra Dam has an installed power generation of over 1,500 MW and its reservoir, the Gobind Sagar, can store up to 93 million cusecs of water, making it a vital national asset. Intelligence agencies have repeatedly cautioned that the dam is on the terror hit list.

The sources said new measures being implemented included the installation of active and dummy steel bollards to prevent a possible gate crashing by vehicles, crash gates with retractable spikes and boom barriers on all access roads along with CCTV cameras at vital points.

New speed boats with advanced navigation aids to patrol the reservoir have also been procured. Access to the dam by boats from the reservoir is prevented by a floating barricade strung across the banks a few hundred metres upstream. The BBMB authorities had also reviewed the possibility of an underwater attack on the dam.