Himachal’s Pong dam faces shortfall of water

Shimla, Aug 2 (IANS) The water level in Himachal Pradesh's Pong Dam - one of the state's major water reservoirs - was still 40 ft short lower on Tuesday compared to the last year due to deficit rainfall in the region, an official said.

The dam serves the irrigation requirements of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, mainly during the off-monsoon season.

"The water levels in the Pong dam reservoir stood at 1,326 feet on Tuesday," an official of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which manages the dam built on the Punjab-Himachal border, told IANS over phone.

He said the water level in the reservoir was quite less compared to the last year, when it stood at 1,366 feet on this day last year.

Another official said the water level in the reservoir increased by two-three feet in the past three days owing to heavy rain.

Official data said the maximum storage capacity for the Pong dam located on the Beas river is 1,393 feet.

An official of the Met office in Shimla said Himachal Pradesh received 25 percent deficit rainfall.

"From June 1 to July 31, the state received 315.7 mm of rain against the normal average of 420.8 mm," he said.