CHANDIGARH : There is no reason for panic about Bhakra reservoir level as past data shows that whenever Bhakra was depleted to 1490 or lower it was followed by filling to 1650 or more while in only one instance the Bhakra filled up to only 1601 feet , said Padamjit Singh A retired PSEB chief engineer.
The water level was going down as inflow was less as compared to outflow before the monsoon season to meet water and power requirements.
Bhakra reservoir level which was 1490.55 ft on June 1 had remained almost same over the month, being 1490.81 ft on 28 June. With onset of monsoon the level is now rising , being 1497.11 feet on July 3. There has been increase of about five feet in three days as the level was 1492.65 ft on 30thJune.The water inflow on Tuesday was 33099 cusecs against outflow of 25475 cusecs.
During the past period of 43 years from 1975 to 2018 there were 10 years when Bhakra Dam water level was depleted around 1490. Out of these ten years In 5 years the filling was achieved to a level of 1660 or higher. In 2 out of these 5 years full reservoir filling was achieved. In 4 years the filling level of Bhakra reservoir was achieved to 1648 up to 1660 .The only exception was year 2004 where the filling of reservoir was only up to 1601 feet.
The reservoir filling during current monsoon is up to 20th September. There should not be a cause of concern about water level as per previous year’s record as reflected in the above table.
In 2018 the quantum of snow cover was about 50 % only while the overall monsoon forecast is normal in the region except in hills where it is likely to be on plus side.