As Punjab experiences its worst flooding in nearly four decades, authorities are closely monitoring the Bhakra Dam, which has reported a structural deflection that has exceeded the permissible limit.
The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), during its technical committee meeting held on Thursday, said that the dam’s deflection reached 1.1408 inches, surpassing the 1.03-inch limit. Though this is still less than the 1.1476 inches recorded in 2019, the deflection, combined with rising water levels, has led to the decision to adjust water flows.
At the time of the technical committee meeting, the Bhakra reservoir, built over Sutlej, was at 1,679.05 feet, just 0.95 feet below the full reservoir level (FRL) of 1,680 feet. Continuous inflows from surrounding catchment areas have added to the rising pressure on the dam.
In response to the situation, the BBMB decided to increase the water release from the dam from 75,000 cusecs to 85,000 cusecs to regulate water levels and manage the inflows, said officials.
Similarly the Pong Dam, built over Beas, is at 1394.62 feet, which is 4.62 feet above FRL. This was disclosed in the technical committee meeting of the BBMB.
At the technical committee meeting, BBMB chief engineer Manoj Tripathi emphasised that the increased water release was necessary to maintain control of the dam’s levels. The goal is to reduce the water level to 1,678.50 feet by September 10 in line with safety standards.
BBMB chairman Manoj Tripathi admitted that the dam has deflected more than the permissible limit, but said there is no need to panic. “Yes, we are concerned and thus we are closely monitoring the situation and releasing water to keep the dam level lower than 1,680 feet,” he said.
“Bhakra is a gravity dam that can deflect 1.03 inches. However, as per seismic structure, it can deflect up to 1.53 inches. There are other parameters like thrust, stress and strain and also leakage, which is well within limits, thus there is not to panic, but we are worried as the inflow of water is almost 20% more than of previous years,” he said.
“The dam’s safety is paramount for the BBMB and thus the water release has been increased from 75,000 to 85,000 cusecs,” Tripathi said.
Flooding across the region has already caused damage to agriculture, infrastructure and communities. The Beas has seen record-breaking inflows, surpassing levels from 2023 and 1988. Authorities expect water releases to continue for at least another week to manage the ongoing situation.