Punjab is grappling with its worst floods in four decades, with devastating effects across the state. Heavy monsoon rains, combined with water releases from Pong, Bhakra and Ranjit Sagar dams has inundated 1,948 villages, impacting over 3,84,000 people, leading to at least 43 deaths and causing massive crop losses of around 1.72 lakh hectares. The floods have destroyed homes, displaced families, and devastated the agricultural sector.
Addressing the media on Friday, Tripathi said that while the floods were largely unavoidable due to record-breaking water inflows into the Bhakra and Pong dams, the damage could have been mitigated if the state had maintained its water infrastructure more effectively.
"The situation could have been averted from turning worse had the Punjab government managed the water courses - rivers and canals - through timely desilting and strengthening of embankments," Tripathi stated. He was responding to growing criticism from political and social quarters that the flooding was man-made and could have been avoided through better coordination between the BBMB and state authorities.
State irrigation and water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal and principal secretary of the department Krishan Kumar were not available for comments despite repeated attempts.
Constituted in 1966, the BBMB is responsible for the operation, administration and maintenance of Bhakra and Pong dams, built over Sutlej and Beas, respectively. The dams are vital for power generation and irrigation in the region.
Tripathi clarified that the BBMB had no option but to release water downstream after the dams received volumes far exceeding their designed capacity. Both Bhakra and Pong dams, he said, received nearly double the water they are capable of holding -- each having a live storage capacity of 6 billion cubic metres (BCM). In a single day, the Pong Dam recorded inflows of 2.2 lakh cusecs, while Bhakra saw 1.9 lakh cusecs. The maximum releases, however, were limited to 1.1 lakh cusecs from Pong and 85,000 cusecs from Bhakra, keeping safety protocols in place. "We may take the level of Pong Dam reservoir to 1,410 feet, but would not let levels at Bhakra Dam to be beyond 1,680 feet," the BBMB chairman said.
He insisted that the very presence of the dams had shielded Punjab from even greater devastation. Without the storage and regulation offered by these reservoirs, he said, flooding would likely have started as early as June. He also said that pre-monsoon technical assessments had recommended drawing down reservoir levels to create more buffer space -- advice that, he said, was not fully acted upon by the partner states.
Tripathi was critical of what he called a "conservative approach" by the partner states, particularly Punjab, in not utilising enough water during the summer months. "Had we exhausted the waters in the summer, we would not have faced such a difficult situation," he said.
He added that he had personally recommended depleting the reservoirs further before the monsoon to avoid precisely this scenario.
Tripathi also clarified that denial of water to Haryana by Punjab earlier this year is in no way connected to floods. He added that the amount of water demanded by Haryana then is just a negligible portion of inflows into the dams. Haryana was seeking 4,500 cusecs of water at that time.
Addressing the security debate, Tripathi clarified that the decision to deploy the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the BBMB dams was taken back in 2021, with logistics already in place. While Punjab has opposed bearing the costs, he reiterated that no BBMB funds are blocked by any government and that institutional mechanisms are covering operational and security-related expenses.
Tripathi noted that Punjab's actual share in BBMB is 39% and not 60%. He emphasised the importance of cooperation among partner states to safeguard critical water infrastructure.
He clarified that the BBMB did not make water release decisions unilaterally. All releases, he said, were made in consultation with partner states -- Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan -- as well as technical experts from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Under normal conditions, these states meet monthly, but during emergencies, the technical committee meets even multiple times a day to coordinate water management strategies.
'Silt in Bhakra reservoir'
Tripathi also revealed that silt accumulation has severely reduced the Bhakra reservoir's capacity. Over the years, the Gobind Sagar Lake has lost around 25% of its storage space to siltation, making flood management even more difficult. The BBMB is now working on an action plan for de-silting that will not require the lowering of water levels, he said.
Despite the recent crisis, Tripathi said the situation has improved, with rainfall in the catchment areas now receding. Though monsoon activity may continue until September 15, forecasts indicate that the intensity will not match that of August. "There is no major threat at the moment, but we are prepared to deal with any eventuality in case of heavy rainfall," he added.