Excess rainfall proves BBMB’s April water release call that sparked Pb, Hry slugfest right

Chandigarh: Back in April, a decision of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to release water from the Bhakra Dam had sparked a heated conflict between Punjab and Haryana. Punjab govt had taken control of the BBMB's operations and deployed police at the dam to prevent release of water to Haryana. The matter had even reached the high court, where Punjab failed to get any relief.Three months later, the accurate above-normal monsoon forecast of the IMD has justified the board's stance — one that had triggered a virtual water war between the two neighbouring states, but was now found to be necessary for the dam's safety.In its meeting held on April 23, 2025, the technical committee of the BBMB asserted that the release of water from the dam was important to lower reservoir levels and safeguard the dam's structural integrity, particularly due to IMD predicting substantial monsoon inflows.The BBMB chairman, in the meeting, stated that the first long-range forecast for the monsoon was released by the IMD on April 15. The seasonal rainfall over the country was likely to be 105% of the long-range average, according to the forecast. He specifically referred to the IMD reports that suggested an above-normal monsoon.At that time, Haryana requested the release of an additional 4,500 cusecs of water to meet some emergency requirements, a demand that was met with strong opposition from Punjab's chief engineer/canal. The Punjab representative argued that Haryana should not receive water beyond its fixed quota.The BBMB chairman, however, pointed out that as per the technical requirement based on the rule curve, the reservoir level had to be brought down and there should not be any objection from partner states.Some water was also to be released to Rajasthan and Delhi.The committee members consented to the health/dam safety perspective of the Bhakra reservoir in terms of bringing the reservoir level to 1,506 feet to create space for the accommodation of heavy inflows during the monsoon. The meeting was held to decide the release of water from BBMB dams for the balance depletion period from April 24 to May 20. The period from Sept 21 to May 20 every year is considered a depletion period by the BBMB.The technical committee was set up to consider the operation of the Bhakra reservoir for irrigation and power purposes. It was further mandated to consider any other technical matter specifically referred to by the BBMB chairman or board. The manual of Nangal Dam and Nangal Hydel Channel stipulates that releases from Bhakra Dam/Nangal Dam shall be made by the senior design engineer/water regulation in line with the decision taken by the committee.BoxReleasing 65,000 cusecs from Bhakra: OfficialA senior official of BBMB, on the condition of anonymity, told TOI that had the recommendations of the technical committee meeting held in April were considered, the dam would have enough storage to manage the inflow of water for at least a few days now. But unfortunately, the outflow was restricted despite the recommendations, he added. "Still we are working in an efficient manner and have held around eight technical committee meetings in Aug and all decisions have been taken after discussions with stakeholders. At present, we are releasing 65,000 cusecs of water from Bhakra Dam and 80,000 cusecs of water from Pong Dam," the official added.MSID:: 123657731 413 |