Panic driven BBMB continues spillage from Pong Dam
Vinod Kumar Gupta
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
CHANDIGARH: The spillage from Pong Dam continues despite reduction in inflows due to over reaction of panic driven BBMB , said Padamjit Singh Chairman All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF).

According to BBMB website the reduced water inflow in Pong Dam has been recorded at 39785 cusecs whereas discharge continues at 64477 cusecs. The water level in dam is 1386.65 feet against designed full level of 1400 feet. AIPEF has mentioned that water level in dam has come down to 1385.95 feet with continuos spillage of over 46227 cusecs. Last year the Dam had been filled to 1394.5 ft.
AIPEF has written to Secretary Power and CEA informing that the generation at Pong was kept low during the depletion months March, April, May 2010 with PLF of 38, 5, 27 percentage respectively. The depletion was to 1345 ft only.

While in July the station (Pong) operated at 81 percent capacity, strangely in August the generation was reduced to about 65percent capacity. On August 9 . there was a flood inflow of about 1 Lac Cusecs and even then the generation was not increased. Only on the evening of August 13 . the generation was increased at Pong to 100%.

It may be added that spillage was maximum when there was already a distress in Punjab due to heavy rain fall and there was sufficient storage margin available upto 1400 feet.

AIPEF has alleged that extra spillage was carried out to deplete the reservoir. The dam was contributing to the floods by way of depletion at a rate of about 20000 Cusecs and that too when there was no emergency and adequate margins are available up to 1400 ft.

The BBMB is continuing with extra spillage even today even though the level is 1386.65 feet Under the circumstances BBMB should stop this spillage and commence the filling of Dam. AIPEF has hoped that If BBMB is to retrieve the loss to the extent possible by stopping the spillage and allowing the filling of reservoir up to 1397 or 1398 ft.