The situation regarding the water flowing through the Bhakra Canal is not clear yet. The board has also added the condition that water will be released only according to the safe capacity of the canal. The design capacity of the Bhakra Canal is 12,500 cusecs, whereas till now only a maximum of 11,200 cusecs of water has been released in it.
The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has agreed to give water to Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan as per their demand. In the technical committee meeting held at the BBMB headquarters on May 15, Haryana had demanded 10,300 cusecs, Punjab 17 thousand and Rajasthan 12,400 cusecs of water from May 21 to 31. In the meeting, Punjab had opposed Haryana’s demand. But according to the information that has come out now, BBMB has decided that the demand for water made by Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan for 10 days will be met. That is, even after Punjab’s opposition, Haryana will now get 10,300 cusecs of water.
The Punjab government had demanded 17,000 cusecs of water in this meeting. As decided, Punjab will get 7,000 cusecs of water from Harike and 10,000 cusecs of water from Ropar. Approval has been given to give 12,400 cusecs of water to Rajasthan and 10,300 cusecs of water to Haryana. It is believed that after the strict stand of the Punjab government, the board has adopted an impartial attitude.
However, the situation regarding the water running through the Bhakra Canal is not clear yet. The board has also added the condition that water will be released only according to the safe capacity of the canal. The design capacity of the Bhakra Canal is 12,500 cusecs, whereas till now a maximum of 11,200 cusecs of water has been released in it. BBMB has decided to give a total of 13,300 cusecs of water to Punjab and Haryana through the canal, which is more than the capacity of the canal.
The meeting has been called again on 31 May
Punjab has already said in the meeting of 15 May that the banks of the Bhakra Canal have become weak and need repair. Therefore, water should be released only after considering the condition of the canal. The next meeting of BBMB is likely on 31 May, in which a decision will be taken regarding the demand for water for the month of June.
On the other hand, BBMB has not taken any decision on the additional water demanded by Punjab from BBMB. BBMB has decided to postpone the repair of the third tunnel of Pong Dam for the time being in the meeting of 15 May. Punjab had demanded 35 percent more water i.e. 9 thousand cusecs of additional water for sowing paddy, but no decision has been taken on this.