Bhakra Dam to open the floodgates anytime now: BBMB

Flooding of the dam has been caused due to the ongoing heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh’s catchment areas and in the Govind Sagar reservoir, informed the BBMB officials. The opening of the flood gates also brings with it the threat of floods in Punjab.

BBMB’S Joint Director of Public Relations, V P Sharma said, “We are closely monitoring the situation and we can open the floodgates at the dam to maintain the water level. But it is a normal exercise of BBMB and no one should panic. It is a regular feature to regulate inflow and outflow of water in the dam.”

“The water level in Bhakra dam today (Friday) touched 1,668.5 feet, which is a foot above the yesterday's level. We can store water up to the height of 1,680 feet but open the gates before reaching this level.

We are in close touch with Punjab government and regularly apprising them about the situation,” he went on to reveal.

In lieu of the announcement by the board to open the floodgates of the dam, the Punjab government has ordered the deputy commissioners of Ropar, Ludhiana, and Ferozepur, which are the areas near the Satluj River, to stay vigilant and be equipped to tackle any crisis.