BBMB reduces outflow from Bhakra dam by 15,000 cusecs on request of Ludhiana DC

On the request of Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) authorities have reduced the outflow from the Bhakra dam from 85,000 cusecs to 70,000 cusecs.

Sources said the deputy commissioner had sent an SOS message to the BBMB that a few embankments along the Sutlej river in the district were facing a breach and that the water discharge in the Sutlej should be reduced.

The BBMB chairman reduced the outflow. It would mean that just about 50,000 cusecs of water would be released into the Sutlej in the next about six hours to help the authorities in Punjab to repair the embankments along the Sutlej in various parts of the state.

Due to the decreased rain activity the average inflow into the Bhakra dam has also reduced to about 70,000 cusecs. With weather predicting lesser rains in the coming days, the BBMB authorities may decide to keep the outflow from the Bhakra dam at about 70,000 cusecs for the next couple of days, highly placed sources told The Tribune.

The water level in the Bhakra dam as per the data collected at 6 am on Friday was 1,678.74 feet.

The water level in the Pong dam continued to remain high at 1,394.71 feet. The inflow into the Pong dam also reduced to 1,05,950 cusecs. The outflow from the Pong Dam was 99,763 cusecs.

The reduced outflow from the Bhakra dam has given a sigh of relief to the people living on the banks of the Sutlej in Ropar and other parts of the state. The district administration has asked them to continue exercising caution.