Water level low in dams, BBMB sounds warning
With the weatherman predicting below normal precipitation over north India in the first three months of the year and the storage levels in crucial dams being below normal, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has asked its member states to exercise caution while projecting their demand for water. In its long-range forecast for the winter season from January to March, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said the rainfall over north India was most likely to be below normal by 86 per cent of the long period average. Rain and snow in Himachal Pradesh and adjoining areas of Tibet are crucial for water inflow into the reservoirs at the Bhakra dam on the Sutlej and Pong dam on the Beas in Himachal Pradesh. Precipitation also lowers the water demand for irrigation. The water level at the Bhakra dam at present is 43 per cent of its total capacity as compared to the 10-year average of 61 per cent at this time of the year, while at the Pong dam, it is 30 per cent as compared to the 10-year average of 57 per cent, according to data released by the Central Water Commission. “During our meeting with member states, including Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, we had appraised them of the low availability of water and asked them to formulate their demands accordingly,” a BBMB functionary said. “The widespread spells of rain and snow experienced in the region last week have helped to alleviate the situation to some extent and a couple of more weather events are expected over the next few days, but we need to plan ahead to avoid any difficulties,” he added. The inflow at the Bhakra dam on January 3 was about 4,700 cusecs and the outflow was 10,000 cusecs, while at Pong, the inflow and outflow was 2,600 cusecs and 13,000 cusecs, respectively. BBMB officials said the present outflow from the Bhakra dam was about 5,000 cusecs below normal due to the closure of some canals by the Punjab Irrigation Department for maintenance, which is expected to continue till January 20. The outflow from Pong is about 4,000 cusecs above normal as the demand in the areas served by it had increased because of low water release from the Thein dam on the Ravi.
