Pong Dam level rises 10 feet above danger mark as monsoon withdrawal stalls

The water level at Pong Dam, which lies on the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, has risen to almost 10 feet above the stipulated maximum level even as the withdrawal of monsoon from the region appears to have stalled.

The level at the dam recorded on Saturday morning was 1,399.93 feet against the upper limit of 1,390 feet, according to information released by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

While 1,390 feet has been fixed as the upper filling limit for Pong due to various technical, meteorological and safety factors, the dam can cater to water levels up to 1,421 feet in extreme circumstances.

The inflow into the dam’s reservoir was 37,192 cusecs, while the outflow was 59,789 cusecs. The mean outflow in the month of September during the last 10 years ranged between 9,622 cusecs to 14,852 cusecs.

On the other hand, the level at Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh was 1,677.70 feet, on Wednesday morning, more than two feet below the stipulated top mark of 1,680 feet. The inflow was 35,666 cusecs while the outflow was 45,000 cusecs.

Pong is located in Kangra district, close to the border with Punjab. The dam’s catchment area that lies across Kullu, Mandi and Kangra districts has been experiencing heavy rains over the past few days.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), rains have been above the long period average (LPA) by 416 per cent in Mandi and by 229 per cent in Kangra, but 12 per cent below LPA in Kullu from September 13 till the morning of September 20. The IMD is expecting light to moderate rain in these districts till September 22.

The IMD has termed the monsoon activity over Himachal Pradesh as “normal” over the past 24 hours, with light to moderate rain being observed at many places in the state. The IMD is also expecting light rain at a few places till September 26.

The monsoon began its withdrawal from the region on September 15, with the rains retreating from the south-western corners of Punjab and Haryana, but with no further progress since.

“The line of withdrawal of southwest monsoon continues to pass through Bhatinda, Fatehabad, Pilani, Ajmer, Deesa and Bhuj,” a bulletin issued by the IMD on September 20 stated, which is the same position as that on September 15. Normally, the monsoon should have withdrawn from half the state of Punjab by September 20, with complete withdrawal from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh by September 25.

Over the past 24 hours, several districts in northern and eastern Punjab received light to moderate rain along with thunder and lightning, with the IMD describing the monsoon activity in the state as “normal”.

The weather in the state is expected to remain dry till September 26. The IMD said that conditions are becoming favourable for further withdrawal of the monsoon from some more parts of Haryana and Punjab and some parts of Himachal Pradesh during the next 2-3 days.