Every thing is under control: BBMB Chairman

Chandigarh: The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) Chairman Manoj Tripathi has assured that there’s no danger of extra water outflow from the Bhakra Dam and everything is under control as of now.

However, BBMB was forced to release excess water downstream due to historically high and unprecedented rainfall in the catchment areas of the Beas River.

While talking to Millennium Post Tripathi said, “This time they have seen the ‘Historic Water Inflow’. The Beas River has recorded its highest-ever inflow of 11.70 billion cubic meters (BCM) between July 1 and September 5, surpassing previous records,” and added, “The Pong Dam, built on the Beas River, has a capacity of only 5.5 BCM, which is significantly lower than the current inflow.

Such a quantity of water has never come in it”.

Tripathi emphasised that the dams managed by BBMB have a huge carrying capacity, and without them, Punjab would have faced floods as early as June due to extraordinary rainfall.

The BBMB Chairman highlighted that accumulation of silt in Bhakra and Pong dams is creating obstacles in effective water management, as 25 per cent of Bhakra Dam’s capacity is occupied by silt.

Blaming the governments of partner states for not allowing dams to be emptied for desilting, he said, “Desilting requires a coordinated action. Unless, the states allow emptying of the dams, desilting cannot be completed. We had tried earlier and raised the issue with the Himachal Pradesh government last year, urging them to take action. But the state’s department of mining objected to it. Now, they have agreed. Hopefully, things will change now”.