Amidst heavy rain, water level of Beas to be monitored daily

Raghav Guleria

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Dharamsala, August 1
Owing to excessive rain in its catchment areas in Mandi and Kullu districts, the Beas is in spate again, bringing back the memories of last year’s floods. The river had caused huge loss of life and property last year.
In this regard, Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa said the administration was on alert in the district. He said instructions were issued to the nodal officers of various departments, including the sub-divisional magistrates, tehsildars and naib tehsildars, to ensure that there was no delay in effective relief and rehabilitation operations at any level.
Bairwa said due to heavy rains, regular monitoring of the Beas was being ensured. Under the Disaster Management Act, it is necessary for the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to send a report regarding the water level in the dam to the District Disaster Management Authority every day at 6 am and 4 pm .

Alert issued

• The Meteorological Department has issued a warning for heavy rainfall at some places in Kangra district for the next 24 hours and the people have been requested to remain alert
• The Kangra DC has appealed to all locals and tourists to refrain from approaching the banks of rivers and streams. He also urged people to avoid unnecessary travel
• The BBMB will send a report to the District Disaster Management Authority every day

The DC said the district administration was fully prepared for relief and rehabilitation work and all officials were stationed in the field with necessary machinery and equipment. He urged the residents to contact the disaster management centres on toll free number 1077 in case of emergency.
Reviewing the damage at the district headquarters on Thursday, the DC gave necessary guidelines to departments concerned for effective relief operations.
He said no laxity should be shown regarding disaster management work at any level and officials of all departments should be ready to work extensively in their respective areas.
He added that the roads obstructed due to heavy rains were restored with immediate effect to streamline the movement of vehicles.
According to Bairwa, instructions were given to restore the roads including, Lahad-Cheliyan-Roodh-Panyali, upper Lambagaon-Vishwakarma Mandir, Chadhiyar Mungar Haled, Ballah Tooti Bat, DDM Rajun, Kharoth-Khabharan, Dhira-Kahanpatt and EKB Chambi-Nadi-Pira, that were obstructed due to heavy rains.
The Meteorological Department has issued a warning for heavy rainfall at some places in the district for the next 24 hours and the general public has been requested to remain alert.
The DC has appealed to all locals and tourists to refrain from approaching the banks of rivers and streams. He also urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and stay in safe places.
Pong levels likely to rise
The Beas along with its tributaries, including Parvati, Malana, Uhal, Binwa, Neugal, Baner, Gaj and Dehar, end up in the Pong reservoir. The water from the dam is utilised for areas downstream during the lean period.
Earlier in the week, the level in the Pong reservoir stood at 1,318.47 feet, which was 53.05 feet short of the last year’s level.
The dam level is now expected to rise due to incessant rain across the region.
People thronged Kaleshwar Mahadev to witness a swollen Beas before its merger into the Pong lake.