Shimla, Aug 22 (PTI) Release of water from Kangra’s Pong Dam this monsoon destroyed crops, houses and cowsheds in Fatehpur, and several villages in Indora were cut off due to closure of roads and damage to bridges, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu informed the Assembly on Friday.
He held the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) responsible for the damage and loss.
Responding to a calling attention motion of Congress MLA Malender Rajan, Sukhu said that crops in 50-60 hectares of land, four houses and 38 cow sheds were damaged in Fatehpur. In Indora assembly segment, 100 hectares of agricultural land was washed away. Several villages there were cut off due to closure of roads and damage to two bridges.
Sukhu said the BBMB management has been repeatedly told to strengthen the Early Warning System and release water in a controlled manner. An FIR was also registered at Sansarpur police station on July 26, 2025, holding it responsible for the damage.
As many as 23 families with 123 members have been shifted to safer places 50 metres away from River Beas in Fatehpur. Relief camps have been set up in both Fatehpur and Indora, and ration, food grains and tarpaulin have been provided to affected people, he added.
A National Disaster Response Force team has been deployed at Kathgarh and loudspeakers have been placed at three locations to alert people regarding the release of water, the chief minister said.
The current water level at Pong Dam is 1,384 feet. So far, 70,000 cusecs of water have been released, which will be increased to 75,000 cusecs, Sukhu told the House.
In 2023, 1.42 lakh cusecs of water was released, causing damage to 10,000 hectares of land, 81 houses, 45 cattle sheds, seven kitchens, 13 roads and two bridges and causing an estimated Rs 20 crore loss.
About 2,500 people were airlifted by the Indian Air Force that year. However, the BBMB has still not taken steps for effective dam management so far or satisfactorily rehabilitated the displaced people.
Sukhu said the storage capacity of Pong Dam was 8,570 Million Cubic Metres (MCM), while its active storage capacity was 6,962 MCM. The dam has four gates, and six radial gates with maximum ‘outflow spillway’ of 12,375 cumecs.
A BBMB Board meeting was held on August 20, 2025, in which representatives of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan were present, the chief minister said. At this meeting, Himachal Pradesh pointed out that a large area was already submerged and insisted that the water outflow should be staggered in adherence to provisions of the Dam Safety Act 2021, and early warnings should also be given.
“We are fighting for the state’s dues. In 2022, the Supreme Court had ruled in our favour and the BBMB has to pay us Rs 4,200 crore arrears. However, the neighbouring states are creating hurdles,” he said, adding that “we are expecting a positive decision in the upcoming hearing in September.” Raising the issue, Indora MLA Malender Rajan said that excess water release from the Pong dam has caused extensive damage in 12-14 panchayats of his constituency and parts of Fatehpur.
About 100 families were rescued and shifted to relief camps, he said, adding that flooding has become a permanent feature. He reminded that massive destruction was witnessed in 2023 monsoon also.
Stating that illegal mining in the area is one of the reasons for floods, he demanded that the area be declared as no mining zone till a permanent solution is found for this problem. PTI BPL RUK RUK
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