Malana-II Still Shut a Year After Flash Flood — Most Himachal Dams Running Smooth Despite Rainy Spells
Shimla, August 4, 2025:
A year has passed, but the Malana-II Hydroelectric Project is yet to roar back to life.
Shut since the devastating flash flood on August 1, 2024, the plant remains inoperational, with dam gates still open — a grim reminder of how nature’s fury can cripple high-altitude infrastructure. While most other dams in Himachal Pradesh are functioning within safe limits, Malana-II stands out as a cautionary tale.
According to today’s official dam status report, rain and cloudy weather prevail across all four major basins — Satluj, Ravi, Yamuna, and Beas. But Malana-II, marked in blue, continues to sit idle, its silence echoing through Kullu valley, where it once supplied critical hydroelectric power.
High Silt, Maintenance Shut a Few More Plants
Several other dams — highlighted in orange — have also shut down operations temporarily, either due to high silt levels or routine maintenance. However, these are precautionary and temporary, unlike Malana-II's prolonged closure.
Beas Basin Holds Strong
Despite Malana’s silence, the rest of the Beas Basin is active. The Larji Barrage showed the highest inflow at 996.11 cumecs, releasing 234.13 cumecs.
Pong Dam continues to store massive volumes, clocking 1402 cumecs inflow and releasing 521 cumecs under cloudy skies. Parbati-III and Sainj too reported healthy inflows and controlled discharges.
Satluj & Ravi Basins: Steady and Cloudy
In the Satluj Basin, Nathpa and Karcham recorded strong inflows — 852 and 791.35 cumecs respectively — operating within safe water levels under consistent cloud cover. Bhakra Dam, though listed, didn’t provide updated data.
In the Ravi Basin, all major projects — including Chamera I, II, III, Baira, and Bajoli Holi — are operating well within permissible limits. Baira Dam has kept its service gate open due to high ppm levels, as a safety measure.
Yamuna Basin Dams: Stable
On the Yamuna side, Sawra Kuddu and Jateon Barrage remain functional, with steady inflows (72.4 and 107.21 cumecs) and moderate outflows.
Parbati-II, flagged in yellow, continues to delay timely data reporting, a consistent lapse that officials have yet to fix — a small crack in an otherwise efficient system.
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