Chandigarh, Sept. 30 -- The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has raised concerns over declining water availability in the Bhakra reservoir and advised its partner states to rationalise and gradually taper their water demands due to the lower-than-normal storage position.

The issue was discussed at a technical committee meeting (TCM) held on Tuesday, attended by representatives of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. With the reservoir filling season now over, the BBMB management cautioned the states that available water must be used judiciously to meet irrigation, drinking water and hydropower requirements during the coming months.

The Bhakra reservoir currently holds around 5.7 billion cubic metres (BCM) of water against its total live st...