Chandigarh, Sept. 5 -- Water level in the Bhakra reservoir would have come down by about five feet, thus creating space for the upcoming monsoon deluge, had the Punjab government agreed to the release of 4,500 cusecs of additional water from Bhakra dam to neighbouring Haryana for eight days (from April 24 to May 1), according to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) data. Board statistics showed that the water level in the Bhakra reservoir on April 23 when a technical committee of the BBMB met to deliberate the availability of water for the depletion period (Sept 2024-May 2025) and decided that Haryana be provided 8,500 cusecs (4,000 cusecs + additional 4,500 cusecs) of water for eight days, was 1,555 feet and the storage was 1.3 billion cubic metre. The additional 4,500 cusecs water could not be released to Haryana due to Punjab's stiff resistance. The minutes of a board meeting held on April 30 said it was informed by the BBMB that the additional requirement of 4,500 cusecs for eight days at Haryana contact points was equivalent to 88 million cubic metre which at present Bhakra reservoir level is about 4.70 feet of depletion assuming nil inflows. "This meant that the Bhakra reservoir level would have come down to around 1,550 feet elevation if 4,500 cusecs of additional water was released by BBMB to Haryana for eight days. This would have created space in the reservoir to accommodate monsoon water,'' said an irrigation official. Data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and BBMB showed that when the first monsoon showers hit the northern region on June 29 well before the normal date of July 8, the Bhakra reservoir level rose to 1,595 feet on July 1. During the April 30 Board meeting, BBMB officials said that during the last five years, Haryana had been getting about 8,000 cusecs during April and about 9,500 cusecs during May. "It was also informed by the BBMB that with the present inflow pattern the levels of Bhakra as on May 20, 2025 i.e. at the end of depletion period will be between 1,540-1,545 feet, which will be higher than the long-term average levels of Bhakra on that date and will also be higher than the minimum level of 1,506 feet decided by the technical committee,'' said the minutes of the meeting. Sounding a note of caution, BBMB chairperson Manoj Tripathi, during an earlier special board meeting held on April 28, had said that if the predictions made by IMD and private forecaster Skymet - that monsoon rainfall was likely to be 105% of the long-range average (with model error of plus-minus 5%) - materialised and Bhakra dam is operated at higher reservoir levels before the monsoon, there may be a risk of storage shortfall and possible water spillover across the international border. "The need to lower the reservoir levels to reasonable levels was explained as essential to manage delta movement into dead storage to assist in restoring the dam's original structural behaviour and to ensure adequate reservoir capacity for accommodating heavy monsoon inflows or extreme events," said the minutes of the board meeting. "Historic inflows in the balance period of depletion period till May 20 remain between 10,000 cusecs to 20,000 cusecs. So, the Bhakra reservoir levels will be above 1,530 feet as on May 20, 2025 even with the decided releases and dry inflows during the last technical committee meeting of April 23. Punjab water resources department chief engineer (canals) also confirmed that with the decided releases the reservoir level will be above 1,532 feet on May 20, 2025 that is at the end of depletion period,'' according to the minutes of the board meeting. The chairperson also said that the Bhakra reservoir may not be depleted below 1,506 feet keeping into the cushion of 0.5 billion cubic metre in case of poor or delayed monsoon as per the prevalent practice. Documents showed that the reservoir level of Bhakra on April 4, 2025 was 1,551.89 feet as against average level 1,543.45. This was seven feet higher than the average level. Similarly, the reservoir water level of Bhakra on April 21 was 1,557.18 feet against the average level of 1,537.98 feet. Thus, the water level at Bhakra was around about 19 feet higher than the average level on the same day. The chairperson also said that the storage dams have to follow the rule curve for the sustainable operation of dams and keeping into view these aspects the partner states need to put in their demands for water. "The chairperson informed that as per the technical requirement based on the rule curve, the reservoir level has to be brought down and there should not be any objection to partner states. The committee members consented upon the dam safety perspective of Bhakra reservoir in terms of bringing reservoir level to I,506 feet in order to create cushion for accommodation of heavy water inflow during monsoon as per the IMD forecast,'' read the documents. Opposing Haryana's demand, Punjab water resources principal secretary Krishan Kumar in an April 24 communication to the BBMB chairperson had said that Haryana has exhausted its share of water and should not be allowed more than 4,000 cusecs for drinking requirement. "In this context, it is brought to your notice that the rule curve defines 1,506 feet elevation as the lowest level of Bhakra dam during the depletion period. However, it is pertinent to clarify that this level is indicative and not mandatory. This is itself justified by the Bhakra Dam reservoir levels of previous year over the past five years. The reservoir level on May 21 has never fallen to 1,506 feet. Moreover, the average level of the last 43 years on May 21 is 1,534.13 feet, which is 28.13 feet higher than 1,506 feet," the communication said....