‘Deflection poses no threat to Bhakra Dam’

CHANDIGARH - The 1.05-inch deflection in the Bhakra dam poses no threat to the structure and it is being monitored regularly, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) said Tuesday.

According to BBMB officials, the deflection occurred Sunday in the Bhakra dam, which is constructed on the Satluj River. They, however, clarified that it was a regular phenomenon within the permissible limit and there was no threat to the structure.

“It is clarified that the technical health of Bhakra Dam is being monitored regularly and all the parameters vital for the stability of the dam are well within the permissible limits,” a BBMB spokesperson said here.

“It is particularly pointed out that the deflection at the top of the dam is consequential phenomenon on account of filling or depletion of the reservoir. The present deflection is well within the elastic limit of the dam and there is no danger to its stability. Even the storage capacity of the reservoir is not affected on account of deflection,” he said.

The Bhakra Dam is located in Himachal Pradesh, along the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border, 130 km from Chandigarh.

Its maximum storage capacity of water is 1,680 feet and the BBMB is releasing 12,000 cusecs to 15,000 cusecs of water every day through its spillway gates to maintain this maximum level.

“In the past, there have been perceptible deflections, more than the deflection observed this year. The basic inherent elastic nature of the dam brings it back automatically during the depletion period as the water level goes down,” the spokesperson said.

Earlier, the Bhakra Dam had deflected in 1988, leading to the opening of all floodgates of the dam. Due to this, large areas of Punjab were flooded at that time.