Hoshiarpur: The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) celebrated the 52nd Foundation Day of the Pong Dam today, alongside organizing a technical workshop related to the Beas Dam. The Board's Chairman, Er. Manoj Tripathi, attended the event as the chief guest; he paid tribute at the dam's Martyrs' Memorial and participated in the annual *puja* (ceremonial prayer).
Marking the successful completion of 52 years of the Beas Dam, Chairman Er. Manoj Tripathi paid homage to the engineers and employees who sacrificed their lives during the dam's construction and commended the contributions of every officer and staff member involved in the project's successful operation.
He noted that the Pong Dam—the country's largest in terms of fill material—has not only provided irrigation water to 1.6 million hectares of agricultural land but has also played a pivotal role in power generation. To date, the Pong Power House has generated over 73,358 million units of electricity. He also announced that a project to increase the power house's capacity from 396 MW to 432 MW would commence soon.
Later, while addressing the technical workshop on the Beas Dam, Chairman Er. Manoj Tripathi stated that this multi-purpose dam is a cornerstone of the nation's progress, with the Bhakra and Pong dams recognized as "temples of modern India." Highlighting the dam's features, he mentioned its storage capacity of 8.7 BCM, noting that it holds approximately 2.6 percent of the total water stored in all the country's dams. In terms of water storage capacity, it is the second-largest dam in North India.
On this occasion, Chairman Er. Manoj Tripathi also announced that two new fire tenders and a new boat would be provided here in the near future, and the area would be developed for tourism. Additionally, the Rock Garden is set to be revamped. Earlier, upon their arrival, Chief Engineer Rakesh Gupta welcomed Chairman Shri Manoj Tripathi and other guests, expressing confidence that the dam would continue to serve the nation even more effectively in the future.
During the technical workshop on Beas Dam held on this occasion, Deputy Chief Engineer (Dam) Manveen Chaudhary and Design Engineer Neeraj Chauhan shared technical insights on various topics, including fundamental information about the dam, the 'Curve Rule' policy, and emergency safety systems.
Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) Secretary Er. Balbir Singh Singmar, Member (Irrigation) Er. B.S. Nara, Chief Engineer (Nangal) Er. C.P. Singh, Deputy Chief Engineer (Beas Dam) V.K. Meena, Superintending Engineer Ajit Kumar, Additional Superintending Engineer Vinay Kumar, and Executive Engineers Arvinder Pal Singh Ubi, Harpreet Singh, Gaurav Lamba, and Rabinder Singh, along with other officials, were present at the event.
Deputy Secretary Sunil Kumar conducted the proceedings during the workshop, while SDO Dinesh Kumar conducted the proceedings during the *puja* ceremony held at the dam.