SHIMLA, September 20 — The water level at Pong Dam on the Beas river has surged nearly 10 feet above the prescribed maximum, with the retreat of monsoon rains over Himachal Pradesh yet to make significant progress.
The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) reported on Saturday morning that the dam had reached 1,399.93 feet, compared to the stipulated upper filling limit of 1,390 feet. While the dam can withstand up to 1,421 feet in extreme situations, the safety threshold is normally fixed lower owing to technical, meteorological and structural considerations.
At present, inflows into the reservoir were measured at 37,192 cusecs, while outflows stood at 59,789 cusecs. The BBMB noted that the mean September outflow over the past decade has ranged between 9,622 cusecs and 14,852 cusecs — far below the current discharge.
In contrast, the level at Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej stood at 1,677.70 feet, about two feet below its top mark of 1,680 feet, with an inflow of 35,666 cusecs and outflow of 45,000 cusecs.
Pong Dam, situated in Kangra district near the Punjab border, has seen its catchment areas across Kullu, Mandi and Kangra districts drenched by heavy rainfall in recent days. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, rainfall between September 13 and 20 was 416 percent above the long-period average (LPA) in Mandi and 229 percent above LPA in Kangra, though 12 percent below LPA in Kullu.
The IMD described monsoon activity across Himachal Pradesh as “normal” over the past 24 hours, with light to moderate showers at many locations. The department forecast light rainfall at a few places until September 26.
The retreat of the southwest monsoon, however, appears to have stalled. The IMD bulletin on September 20 said the withdrawal line continued to run through Bathinda, Fatehabad, Pilani, Ajmer, Deesa and Bhuj — the same position as on September 15. Normally, by September 20, half of Punjab would see monsoon withdrawal, with complete retreat from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh by September 25.
Over the past 24 hours, several districts in northern and eastern Punjab experienced light to moderate rain accompanied by thunder and lightning. The IMD termed the rainfall in Punjab as “normal” and predicted largely dry weather across the state until September 26.
“Conditions are becoming favourable for further withdrawal of the monsoon from some more parts of Haryana and Punjab and some parts of Himachal Pradesh during the next 2–3 days,” the bulletin said.
