Water levels rising in Himachal dams

Shimla, The water levels in Himachal Pradesh's major dams, Bhakra and Pong, have started rising with the revival of the monsoon in the region, an official said Thursday.

The levels, however, were quite lower compared to last year.

The monsoon enables both dams, which serve the irrigation requirements of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, to store large volumes of water.

"The water levels in the Bhakra dam's Gobind Sagar reservoir and the Pong dam reservoir Thursday stood at 1,634 feet and 1,324 feet respectively," an official of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which manages both the dams built on the Punjab-Himachal border, told IANS.

"Still, it was far less than the corresponding period last year," he said.

This time around last year, the water level at Bhakra dam stood at 1,643 feet and at Pong dam at 1,355 feet.

The water level in Bhakra and Pong stood at 1,613 feet and 1,314 feet respectively in 2012.

Official data said the maximum storage capacity for the Bhakra dam is 1,702 feet, and 1,393 feet for the Pong dam reservoir.

While the Bhakra Dam is built on the Sutlej river, the Pong Dam is on the Beas river.

The official said inflow in the Bhakra dam was 45,000 cusecs and in Pong it was 19,900 cusecs.

Source:IANS