Himachal Pradesh rains: Plan to release water from Pong Dam deferred till Wednesday morning after reduced inflows

Shimla: The plan to release excess water from the Pong dam on the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district has been deferred till Wednesday morning, providing relief to the residents of low-lying areas of the state and neighbouring Punjab. [caption id=“attachment_5253421” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A swollen Beas river flows after heavy rains in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. PTI[/caption] However, excess water from the Pandoh dam in Mandi district has been released at 11 am on Tuesday morning, a Central Water Commission official said. The plan of releasing water from the Pong dam has been deferred till Wednesday morning, considering the reduced inflows and the weather forecast of subdued rain activity in the catchment area, a Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) official said. The decision has been taken despite the fact that the water level in the dam reached 1,389.44 feet at 1 pm against the danger level of 1,390 feet, the official said. Earlier, the BBMB authorities had decided to release 49,000 cusecs of water from the dam on Tuesday afternoon as the water level in the dam was nearing the danger mark, he added.