DVRRC sends flood alert to Bengal after levels cross danger mark
The Statesman | 12 July 2025
The water level at Maithon dam has already risen 3.5 feet above the flood mark, while at Panchet dam it has reached 3 feet above the danger level. With continued inflow into the dams and persistent rainfall in the Tenughat Dam area of Bokaro, located in the uppermost region of the Damodar basin, the threat of flooding has intensified, according to senior dam operation officials.
As of 6 p.m. today, the combined discharge from the Maithon and Panchet dams was recorded at 40,000 cusecs. Sanjiv Kumar, member secretary of the Damodar Valley River Regulation Committee (DVRRC), stated: “This discharge needs to be escalated immediately as the water levels at Maithon and Panchet have already crossed the guide curve and are now 3.5 feet and 3 feet above it, respectively.”
Inflow into Maithon dam from its catchment areas was measured at 12,679 acre-feet, while Panchet recorded an inflow of 69,534 acre-feet. This evening, the discharge from Panchet dam was maintained at 30,867 cusecs.
“We need to enhance this further within the next six hours, as the Tenughat dam—managed by the Jharkhand government—has begun discharging at 18,800 cusecs, with further increase likely due to heavy rainfall,” Kumar added. “I have already informed the Bengal government and will be sending another update this evening.”
Tenughat recorded 52.01 mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours—the highest precipitation in the Damodar basin this July.
The sub-basin of the Damodar, which flows through Asansol and Durgapur in the upper catchment of the Durgapur Barrage, also received significant rainfall: 29 mm in Asansol and 41.20 mm in Durgapur in recent hours. This additional catchment runoff led to an inflow surge at the Durgapur Barrage, which recorded a discharge of 52,000 cusecs at 6 p.m. today.
Sanjoy Majumdar, executive engineer of the Damodar Head Works Division under the state irrigation department, said: “If the upper dams increase their discharge, we will have to raise the discharge level at the Barrage as well. Unlike the dams, we do not have any storage provision to retain additional water.”
Any further escalation by the dams will compel the Durgapur barrage to increase its outflow, directly impacting the lower Damodar basin districts such as East Burdwan, Hooghly, Howrah, and parts of Bankura. Some localities and farmlands in these areas have already been submerged due to the incessant rains over the past 72 hours.