Water level in Bhakra Dam at 1,680 feet, inflow into reservoir reduces

The water level in the Bhakra Dam was recorded at 1,680.50 feet on Tuesday even as inflow into the reservoir came down by more than half.

An official of the Bhakra Beas Management Board said the water inflow into Bhakra dam on Tuesday came down to 42,000 cusecs from one lakh cusecs on Monday.

"The water level in the Bhakra was 1,680.50 feet on Tuesday. We are expecting to bring down the current water level in the dam by three to four feet more in the next few days in the wake of reduced water inflow in rivulets downstream," the official said.

The authorities were expecting to bring the water level in the at around 1,675 feet which will provide a cushion for managing any heavy inflows because of rains.

On Monday, the water level in Bhakra dam had crossed its permissible limit of 1,680 feet, prompting the authorities to enhance release of excess water through spillway gates.

Notably, Bhakra reservoir is to be filled up to the level of 1,680 feet by September.

The BBMB authorities are also hopeful of reducing release of excess water through spillway gates to 20,000 cusecs in the next few days.

Currently, 41,000 cusecs of excess are being released through spillway gates. Besides this, 36,000 cusecs of water is also being discharged through power generation turbines.

"Our efforts are to discharge water after using it for power generation," the official said.

Meanwhile, representatives of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan held a meeting with officials of BBMB here on Tuesday to review the situation. The states lauded the efforts of BBMB engineers in handling the crisis situation well.

BBMB authorities said they have been monitoring the situation continuously and it is under control.

Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are the partnering states which meet their water requirement for different purposes, including irrigation, from Bhakra and Pong dams.