Monsoon begins retreat from Punjab and Haryana; water level in dams still high

Amid a forecast of light to moderate rains over parts of northwestern India over the coming few days, the southwest monsoon commenced its withdrawal from Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday.

The rains have receded from the southwestern parts of Punjab, comprising Fazilka, Muktsar, and Bathinda districts, and from the adjoining district of Sirsa in Haryana.

“The line of withdrawal of the southwest monsoon now passes through Bhatinda, Fatehabad, Pilani, Ajmer, Deesa, and Bhuj,” a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on September 16 said. The monsoon is expected to withdraw completely from Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh by September 25.

The monsoon had commenced its withdrawal from the country on September 14-15, affecting the western parts of Rajasthan, which are also the last areas to be covered during its onset.

While rains were seven per cent above the long-period average (LPA) over the country as a whole this year, they were significantly above normal in the region that had witnessed unprecedented inflows at major dams and heavy floods in many downstream areas.

From June 1 until the morning of September 16, Punjab received 618.0 mm of rain against the LPA of 413.3 mm for this period, accounting for a surplus of 50 per cent, according to the IMD.

Haryana has witnessed a surplus of 39 per cent, receiving 565.1 mm of rain against the LPA of 405.7 mm, while Himachal Pradesh has recorded a surplus of 46 per cent, receiving 1,010.9 mm against the LPA of 692.1 mm for the aforementioned period. With rains continuing over many parts of the region, inflows into key dams also remain high.

The water level recorded on Tuesday morning at Pong Dam on the Beas River in Himachal Pradesh was 1,393.50 feet, three and a half feet above the maximum permissible level.

For over a month, the level at Pong has remained above the upper limit of 1,390 feet due to heavy rains in the dam’s catchment area.

Inflow at Pong on Tuesday morning was 130,344 cusecs, while the outflow was 55,020 cusecs. The mean outflow in the month of September during the last 10 years ranged between 9,622 cusecs and 14,852 cusecs, according to information available with the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

The level at Bhakra Dam, which lies on the Sutlej in Himachal, was 1,676.14 feet on Tuesday morning, almost four feet below the maximum permissible limit of 1,680 feet. Inflow was 87,337 cusecs, and the outflow was 50,000 cusecs. The mean outflow during this month over the last 10 years was between 16,781 cusecs and 32,351 cusecs. The IMD has termed the monsoon activity over Himachal Pradesh as “vigorous” during the past 24 hours, with light to moderate rain at most places and heavy to very heavy rain at a few places.

Light to moderate rain in the state is expected to continue until September 22. In Punjab and Haryana, the monsoon activity has been termed as “weak”. Light to moderate rainfall was experienced in some areas of Pathankot and Kapurthala districts and heavy rain in Ropar district, whereas light rain occurred at isolated places in Haryana. While the IMD has said that conditions are favorable for further withdrawal of the monsoon from some more parts of Punjab and Haryana during the next 2-3 days, it has also predicted isolated to scattered showers in some parts of these states until September 19.