Pong dam reaches an all time high as Himachal battles relentless rain
Unyielding rains have pushed Himachal Pradesh’s Pong Dam to its highest water level since it was built, creating a tense and potentially dangerous situation for communities downstream. For the first time ever, the dam has received over 9.68 billion cusecs of water—surpassing last year’s record and crossing the danger mark of 1390 feet, with Friday morning’s reading at 1391.91 feet.
Officials say this kind of water inflow has never been seen before, driven by continuous heavy rainfall across the state and its catchment areas over the past several days.
To prevent overflow, authorities have begun releasing excess water from the dam. While necessary, this has led to severe soil erosion downstream, devastating over 250 hectares of farmland and orchards. The Indora and Fatehpur regions have been hit especially hard, with property losses running into crores of rupees due to flooding and land degradation.
The administration has issued alerts for low-lying areas and warned that water discharge will continue if the rains persist. Residents have been urged to stay vigilant as the situation remains unpredictable and potentially hazardous.
