CHANDIGARH: With summer approaching, water levels in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab dams have dropped significantly—46 per cent and 52 per cent below normal, respectively, as per data by the Central Water Commission (CWC)—raising concerns over potential impacts on power generation and irrigation in the coming months.
The current storage at Bhakra Dam is 1.247 billion cubic metres (BCM) against its total capacity of 6.229 BCM, which is 20 per cent. The average storage at this time of the year over the past 10 years has been 33 per cent.
At Pong Dam, the current storage capacity is 0.816 BCM against its total capacity of 6.157 BCM, which is 13 per cent, compared to the 10-year average of 25 per cent. These dams are on the Sutlej and Beas rivers, respectively, in Himachal Pradesh.
Meanwhile, at the Thein Dam on the Ravi River in Punjab, water availability stands at 0.469 BCM against its capacity of 2.344 BCM. This means the dam is filled up to 20 per cent of its total capacity, compared to the 10-year average of 41 per cent.
The combined hydropower generation capacity of dams in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab is 3,175 megawatts (MW), while their irrigation potential is 10,24,000 hectares. These dams are crucial for water supply in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, parts of Rajasthan, Delhi, and Chandigarh.
According to a CWC bulletin, the northern region—including Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan—has 11 reservoirs under CWC monitoring, with a total live storage capacity of 19.836 BCM.
"As per the Reservoir Storage Bulletin dated March 27, the total live storage available in these reservoirs is 4.733 BCM, which is 24 per cent of the total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The storage during the corresponding period last year was 32 per cent, while normal storage during this time is 33 per cent of the live storage capacity of these reservoirs. Thus, storage this year is lower than both the corresponding period last year and the normal storage level during this time," the bulletin stated.
Rainfall in Punjab during March has been deficient. From March 1 to March 28, the state received 7.6 mm of rainfall compared to the long-period average of 21.5 mm, accounting for a shortfall of 65 per cent. Similarly, rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has been deficient by 28 per cent in March so far, according to data compiled by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Due to the reduced water levels in these dams, power generation and water availability for irrigation might be affected in the coming months.