The BRICS TimesThe Bhakra dam’s water level climbed to 1,678.97 feet on Thursday, just short of its maximum 1,680 feet, after heavy rainfall in its catchment regions.
The Bhakra dam in Punjab has reached a critical stage as its water level stood at 1,678.97 feet on Thursday, leaving it less than one foot away from its maximum capacity of 1,680 feet. In response to the rising danger, the Rupnagar district administration has issued an alert, advising people residing near the Sutlej river to immediately shift to safer areas.
Officials confirmed that the inflow into the Bhakra dam was recorded at 95,435 cusecs, while the outflow stood at 73,459 cusecs. Simultaneously, water levels in the Pong dam, located on the Beas river, have exceeded permissible limits, reaching 1,394.51 feet—around four feet above its designed maximum of 1,390 feet. The inflow at Pong was measured at 1,32,595 cusecs with an outflow of 91,167 cusecs.
Rupnagar Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Singh Walia made an urgent appeal to people living in flood-prone low-lying regions near the Sutlej, especially in several villages of Nangal and Anandpur Sahib, to relocate to secure areas or make use of relief camps set up by the administration. He assured that teams from the National Disaster Response Force, along with other agencies, have already been stationed to manage any emergency.
The DC further mentioned that the Bhakra dam’s water has now reached 1,679 feet, with a release of nearly 75,000 cusecs, and hinted that the discharge may rise further to between 80,000 and 85,000 cusecs depending on conditions.
Earlier, Cabinet Minister Harjot Bains had also urged residents of Sri Anandpur Sahib who live along riverbanks and flood-prone belts to move without delay to safer places or designated camps. Personally monitoring the situation, he toured more than two dozen flood-affected villages and supervised the evacuation of families stranded by the swollen Sutlej.
The situation is not restricted to Rupnagar alone. In Patiala, authorities have sounded an alert for residents in villages situated close to the Ghaggar river in Patran, following torrential rainfall that has swollen the water body.
Punjab continues to grapple with one of its most severe flood crises in decades. The overflowing Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers, along with seasonal rivulets fed by relentless rains in catchment zones of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, have unleashed widespread devastation. Additional downpours within Punjab have only worsened the crisis.
According to official data, the floods have so far claimed 37 lives and affected more than 3.55 lakh people across the state. Agricultural losses have been catastrophic, with crops spanning over 1.75 lakh hectares destroyed under floodwaters.
Akshay Didwaniya
