With sufficient water levels in Bhakhra and Pong dams due to late rains, Chairman of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on Wednesday assured uninterrupted water supply and power distribution during summer season. AB Agrawal, chairman of BBMB, said last month the water level in Pong dam was low but following rain in March, it increased by 24 feet, which is enough to maintain the balance period of depletion.
The water level of Bhakra is also almost equal to last year’s level, hence there will be no scarcity of water for drinking or irrigation, Agrawal said on March 25, water level at Bhakra reservoir was 1576.39 ft as compared to 1583.21 ft last year on March 25. At Pong dam’s reservoir, it was 1320.18 ft on Wednesday as compare to 1321.26 ft on same day (March 25) last year.
BBMB besides distributing water Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan for irrigation purposes, it also distributes water to Chandigarh and Delhi for drinking purposes. As per Bhakra Nangal Agreement 1959, Punjab gets lion share in the water distribution from BBMB among three partner states - Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
It gets 57.88 per cent water from Satluj and 30 percent from Ravi Beas, followed by Haryana 32.31 per cent and 21 per cent from Satluj and Ravi Beas respectively. However, Rajsthan gets the lowest water share from Satluj water at 9.81 per cent, but gets major share from Ravi Beas water at 49 per cent.