Pong Dam records highest-ever inflow amid heavy rainfall in north-west India

Amidst heavy rainfall and floods in many parts of north-west India over the past few days, Pong Dam on the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh has recorded its highest-ever inflow of water. Excess water is being discharged downstream in a controlled manner, taking into account the inflow, carrying capacity of the river, and consensus of the states.

This monsoon, the inflows into the Pong reservoir between July and August have been 9.68 billion cubic meters (BCM), which is the highest ever since the project’s inception, according to an officer of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). The earlier highest recorded inflows were 7.70 BCM in 1988 and 9.19 BCM in 2023.

Pong Dam is a 133-m-high and 1,951-m-long earth-fill embankment dam with a storage capacity of 6.157 BCM at full level. The idea for a dam on the Beas at Pong was first proposed as far back as 1926. The construction finally started in 1961, and the dam was operationalised in 1974.

The water level at the Bhakra dam, which lies on the Sutlej in Himachal, was 1,672 ft on August 28 against the maximum permitted level of 1,680 ft, while at Pong it was 1,393 ft against the upper limit of 1,390 ft.

The seasonal rainfall from June 1 to the morning of August 28 has been above normal in the flood-affected states. Monsoon rainfall has been above the long-period average by 31 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, 25 per cent in Jammu, and 24 per cent in Punjab.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says that North India has recorded the wettest monsoon since 2013, with 21 extremely heavy rain events recorded until August 25, a significant increase compared to 14 such events last year. Weather experts attribute the heavy rainfall activity mainly to the frequent interactions between western disturbances and the monsoon currents from the Bay of Bengal and sometimes from the Arabian Sea.

BBMB officials say that “rule curves” were developed by Central Water Commission (CWC) in 2024 for the operation of the Bhakra and Pong dams, and these are being implemented this year. The water releases from dams are decided by the technical committee, comprising senior officers of BBMB, chief engineers from the partner states, officials from CWC, and a special invitee from IMD.

During the current monsoon season, all decisions, such as the commencement of spillway operation, quantum of releases and outflow, and the schedule of release, have been taken by the technical committee after obtaining consensus in an informed and transparent manner, according to BBMB officials. The technical committee has conducted seven meetings in August 2025 to decide on the releases.

“The regulation of BBMB reservoir operation in 2025 has been done keeping in view all relevant factors, such as Upper Rule Curve, carrying capacity of the Beas river downstream of Pong Dam, sufficient storage for the upcoming depletion phase, and avoiding damages on account of synchronisation of streams and rivulets in the downstream region,” a BBMB official said.

“Due to consistently higher inflows, the enhancement of releases from BBMB reservoirs has been very gradual, keeping in view the safety of the dam as well as downstream areas, by the technical committee in a transparent manner,” he added.