‘IMD forecast was never about such heavy rain’: BBMB rejects criticism over Punjab flood

Is it the first time since 1967 that the dams have been filled to their capacity one month before the fixed date?

Secretary Satish Singla: No, the dams were filled to their capacity in August in 1988 also.

There are allegations that these are man-made floods. All the water was released at once, creating a flood downstream.

Singla: Who is saying that all the water has been released at once? Water has been released for the last one month continuously. Such allegations are wrong. So much water has been released in July and August. It is a record. Because there was unprecedented rain. Water was coming in very large quantities.

Was it avoidable? Could water have been released in a more regulated way?

Singla: It is an afterthought. If it had been released earlier, then some would have said why it was released so early, causing a flood downstream. So it was a very balanced approach. Water was released in a very controlled manner not to cause any flood downstream. But when incoming water was so high, some water had to be released. Even today, the water level is too high. Normally, these are not so high in the month of August. Bhakra was at 1,675 feet and Pong was at 1,394 feet on Friday.

What is the forecast now?

Singla: We can’t say. The monsoon period is up to September. No such forecast is available for a long time. We monitor it from day to day.

Can we say the flood situation will linger on?

Singla: There is no flood situation. The flood was absorbed. This was the second event during this monsoon. The flood was absorbed and released in a very controlled manner.

There was less discharge from the dams during dry months before the monsoon than in previous years. Did that contribute to the water level rising in the dams in August?

Chairman N L Sharma: We would need to study comparative data. Every year has its own pattern of water coming to the reservoir, water released and power generation. These dams are part of a multipurpose project in which irrigation is the primary objective and power generation is secondary. So it also depends on the requirement of water in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. So we make decisions accordingly every year. There has been unprecedented rainfall in July and August. Between July 9 and 12, the Pong dam reservoir received 4.50 lakh cusec water and Bhakra dam had 2.50 lakh cusec water. Between August 12 and 15, the Pong dam received a record 7.30 lakh cusec water. The last 7.15 lakh cusec was recorded in 1971. We released less water in July because there were also rains in Punjab and Haryana in July. If we had released water then, there would have been more damage. Now there was less rain in Punjab in August, so we have released water accordingly.

Could there have been a more regulated release of water between August 1 and August 14, which remained around 41,000 cusec from Bhakra? If more water had been released during this period, would it have avoided the situation we have now?

Sharma: If you study the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast, then it was not for such heavy rainfall. We had estimated the level of Bhakra to touch 1,670 feet by August 15. It was near 1,666-67 feet by August 12. So it seemed we would reach 1,670 feet by August 15. But unfortunate rains increased the water level. So the IMD rain forecast was never about such heavy rainfall.

Flood-affected people feel that water was not regulated properly and that floods could have been avoided.

Sharma: I do share their emotions and understand their hardships. But there is a protocol in place for how water should be released. We made administrations, governments and people aware of the release of water. Our first priority is always to save human lives.

There is a cushion of at least 10 feet at Bhakra. Could that cushion not have been used by taking the level to 1,690 feet?

Sharma: There have been two or three times in history when the water crossed 1,680 feet. Dams are ageing now. The higher the water level goes, the more danger there is to the dam structure. If the dam is breached, it would lead to unexpected damage. There could have been a danger to the dams.