Chandigarh, July 2 -- The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on Wednesday decided to closely monitor water levels in the Bhakra and Pong reservoirs as the monsoon gathered pace in the catchment areas of the Sutlej and Beas rivers, and causing inflows to rise. At a meeting of BBMB's technical committee held in Chandigarh, representatives of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan were advised to exercise caution. The advisory comes amid the onset of the monsoon and memories of the devastating floods in Punjab during the 2023 and 2025 monsoon seasons, when heavy rain and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir led to the release of excess water from the reservoirs. The Punjab government had then blamed BBMB for failing to regulate water, alleging that the opening of the spillway gates led to floods downstream. At the previous technical committee meeting, held a month ago, the partner states had sought higher water allocations as reservoir levels were above average. The additional releases were approved to support paddy transplantation and meet drinking water requirements. Currently, around 47,000 cusecs of water is being released from the two dams - 30,000 cusecs from Bhakra and 17,000 cusecs from Pong. Of this, Punjab is drawing 27,000 cusecs, Haryana 7,000 cusecs and Rajasthan 13,000 cusecs. BBMB chairman Manoj Tripathi said the water level at Bhakra reservoir has been rising over the past two days, while Pong recorded an upsurge in inflows from Wednesday. "We have advised the partner states to remain cautious. In case of an emergent situation, we will hold weekly meetings; otherwise, the practise of monthly meetings will continue," Tripathi said. He said heavy rainfall is expected in the first half of July in the catchment areas of two dams, and in the second half, the precipitation is likely to recede. As of Wednesday, the water level in the Bhakra reservoir stood at 1,558 ft, compared to 1,576 feet on the corresponding day last year. The Pong reservoir level was 1,317 ft against 1,305 ft a year ago. "At present, we are comfortable at both the dams, although the Pong level is higher than the average," Tripathi said. Current inflows into Bhakra's reservoir are around 31,000 cusecs, while Pong Dam is receiving around 11,000 cusecs....