Punjab’s stern missive to BBMB: stop random outflows from Bhakra, Pong dams

In a letter dated September 12, 2025, addressed to the BBMB chairman in Chandigarh, Punjab’s Chief Engineer (Drainage) highlighted the board’s unilateral decisions on water management. “It has been observed that BBMB has been increasing and decreasing the outflows at its own level randomly without taking the State Government of Punjab into confidence,” it states.

It stated that such frequent variations have intensified recently, which is particularly problematic given the state of the saturated riverbanks following prolonged flooding.

The floods, which recently ravaged Punjab, have already caused widespread destruction in districts along the Sutlej and Beas rivers, where the Bhakra and Pong dams are located. Officials warn that any sudden changes in water flow could trigger breaches, leading to further losses.

Over 50 people were killed in the flood, while crops across 1.75 lakh hectares of land were damaged, and over 3.87 lakh people in 1,996 villages were impacted.

“When the banks of the rivers are fully saturated, any fluctuation at this point of time increases the probability of breach in banks of the rivers causing loss of agricultural land, crops and other infrastructure,” the memo emphasises, adding that downstream areas have been grappling with these issues for an extended period.

“You are requested to maintain the outflows in a manner so that there is no danger to the dams and at the same time there isn’t much variation in the flow of river,” the letter reads. It also advocates for “scientific” management that balances dam safety with the protection of vulnerable downstream regions.

The BBMB, a central body responsible for managing the inter-state water resources of the Bhakra-Nangal and Beas projects, is yet to respond to the memorandum. The board oversees power generation and irrigation supplies to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and other partner states, but tensions over water sharing and management have long simmered between the Punjab and partner states.

State water resources department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that this was a necessary step to prevent more disasters. “We have seen enough damage from the floods. We cannot afford additional risks from poor coordination,” an official said.

From the homepage

‘Someone close turned him in’: Trump says suspect in Charlie Kirk killing caught

SpiceJet wheel falls off on takeoff, full emergency at Mumbai airport

Tharoor says Trump’s tariffs hurting India: ‘1.35 lakh people laid off in Surat’