Silt Choking Bhakra Capacity, Gang Canal Celebration Cancelled in Panjab

During the ongoing winter session of the Indian Parliament, the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti (Water Resources) informed that the Bhakra reservoir in Himachal has lost 2,568 MCM of its original storage capacity due to sedimentation. The gross storage capacity of the reservoir is 9.62 BCM. Also, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is yet to begin de-siltation work at its two major reservoirs, Bhakra and Pong. The data was placed in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) in response to an unstarred question by Chandigarh Member of Parliament Manish Tewari on the status of de-silting of the BBMB dams. Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Raj Bhushan Choudhary said a pilot project for de-siltation of Bhakra is on the cards under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project. The pilot is proposed on a revenue-generation model. Panjab, meanwhile, has started de-silting 13 of its dams and has sought forest clearances for nine more. Meanwhile, BBMB has proposed a 1.5K MW pumped storage power project near the Bhakra Dam head in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district. The planned project would exceed the generation capacity of the Bhakra Dam, which currently produces 1.3K MW electricity. BBMB has identified Dobar village in the Shivalik foothills for the ambitious project. Engineers have pinpointed a narrow gorge in the area where a 20 MCM reservoir can be constructed. The project hinges on advanced reversible-turbine technology—turbines that can both pump water and generate electricity. BBMB authorities have also issued a recovery notice of USD 19K to Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu for the 'illegal possession' of its houses in the Nangal township colony. Concurrently, the BJP-led union government canceled the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Gang Canal scheduled for 5 Dec at Hussainiwala, Ferozepur. The government asked union minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal to return back. Gang canal carries water from Panjab to parts of Rajasthan and remains contentious because half of Panjab’s water goes to Rajasthan when the state itself needs water. Meghawal, elected from Bikaner, attended the ceremony in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district (earlier coverage).