Heavy rain a bane for Himachal, a boon for Punjab’s reservoirs

Heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has increased the water levels in the Bhakra and Pong dams, with both reservoirs crossing last year’s levels for the same day.

According to senior irrigation department officials, the water levels in the Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar dams are crucial for irrigation and power generation in the region.

“The water level in the Bhakra dam’s Gobind Sagar reservoir and the Pong dam reservoir stood at 1,603 feet and 1,334.35 feet, respectively, on Tuesday. The water level at Bhakra reservoir increased by 3 feet, and at Pong dam by 4 feet on Monday. The levels in Bhakra dam and Pong dam were 1598.5 feet and 1,330.4 feet, respectively, on the same day last year,” said a senior power official.

At the Ranjit Sagar Dam, the water level reached 504.4 metres against 494.5 metres on the corresponding day last year.

Inflow levels recorded on Monday were 69,000 cusecs at Bhakra, and 96,000 cusecs at Pong, and 21,800 cusecs at Ranjit Sagar. The discharge figures were 25,680 cusecs (Bhakra), 13,650 cusecs (Pong) and 7,680 cusecs (Ranjit Sagar).

Power generation on Monday stood at 224 lakh units at Bhakra, 55.3 lakh units at Pong and 46 lakh units at Ranjit Sagar.

“With the paddy plantation season almost over, water and power requirement may dip in the days to come,” said VK Gupta, spokesperson of the All India Power Engineers Federation.

Meanwhile, coal stock levels at thermal power plants in the state sector remain comfortable. Lehra Mohabbat has 18 days of coal stock, Ropar has 24 days and Goindwal has 13 days. In the private sector, Rajpura thermal has 17 days of coal stock, while Talwandi Sabo thermal plant has 20 days.

This year, the maximum power demand till date was 17,233 MW, recorded on July 5, and power supply was 3,546 lakh units.