Patiala, Dec. 16 -- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notice to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), the ministry of jal shakti, the Punjab government, and others on Monday over the recent floods in the state. BBMB manages both the Bhakra Dam andPong Dam on the Sutlej and Beas rivers. As many as 60 people lost their lives in flood-related incidents, and crops over lakhs of acres, along with several houses, were destroyed. The petition was filed by the Ludhiana-based NGO, public action committee (PAC). The PAC, in their petition, said, "Despite IMD forecasts of heavy rainfall from mid-August, reservoir levels of Bhakra Dam continued to rise, and water releases were subsequently carried out under high inflow conditions, leading to floods in Punjab." The petition added that by August 1, the Bhakra Dam had already reached 53% of its storage capacity. The outflow from the dam during the period August 1 to August 18 was maintained only at an average of 22,000-23,000 cusecs. It was only on August 19 and 20 that the spillway gates were opened for the first time in two years. By that time, the water level had already risen to 1,666 ft, just 14 ft below the full reservoir level (FRL). "We (PAC) served a notice dated August 9, upon BBMB, the ministry of jal shakti, and the Punjab government, to regulate water releases dynamically in accordance with IMD weather predictions. Despite this, BBMB took no corrective action," Kapil Arora, a member of PAC, said. The petition further added that the Punjab government failed to stop illegal mining in and along both the rivers, resulting in weakening of dhusi Bundhs. Further, continuous illegal mining along the Sutlej and Beas, as well as in the Gaggar river, is also one of the major causes of damage due to floods in Punjab. The ministry of jal Shakti, in a written reply during the ongoing winter session of Parliament, has denied any poor management claims. "In the year 2025, there were extensive rains in the catchments of Pong and Bhakra dams, leading to huge inflows of 3,49,522 and 1,90,603 cusecs into the reservoirs of the two dams, respectively. The releases were made as per decisions taken by the Technical Committee comprising members from partner states," the ministry said in its reply....