Come clean on water discharge from dam, Randhawa asks CM

Gurdaspur Lok Sabha MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday shot off a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, asking whether rules were followed while maintaining the water level at state-operated Ranjit Sagar Dam.

Randhawa, a Congress leader, also asked the government to explain why on August 26 and 27 a large amount of Ravi water was released from the dam, resulting in the damage to the Madhopur headworks.

In the letter, the MP asked whether the “rule curve” for the Ranjit Sagar Dam was followed in pre-monsoon and monsoon periods. “If the rule curve was not followed, who authorised the deviations,” he asked.

A “rule curve” for a dam is a schedule that specifies target reservoir water levels for different times of the year to maximise the dam’s purposes and ensure safety.

It guides dam engineers in making release and storage decisions, particularly during monsoons, by defining ideal water levels to check flood control without needing constant hierarchical approval.

The MP said the release of excess water from the dam on the night of August 26 caused unprecedented flooding in Amritsar and Gurdaspur, which was “not simply an act of nature but a clear case of administrative and technical failure”.

“Which senior officers were actually present at the dam during the intervening night of August 26 and 27 when inflows and outflows were at their peak. What was the exact water level at the reservoir when the decision to release such a massive in-charge was taken,” he asked.