Largest Dams of India
Not all interruptions that include in the function of nature by humans are considered destructive. For example, the dams that are constructed across the rivers are considered to be very constructive not only for the humans but also for nature. There are a few dams that can be considered as landmarks in the history of engineering and architecture. The aswan dam that is built across the river Nile, the Hoover dam and more importantly the three gorges dam that is built in China which is expected to even alter the time of rotation of the earth can be considered as great engineering Marvels. However, some of these dance might not be that massive but have a massive impact in the economy and geography of the region.
When it comes to a country like India whose economy is dependent on farming and whose electricity is dependent on natural resources, dams are very important. Some of these dams have quite some significance in being large. We have compiled below, a list of the largest dams in India.
Tehri dam in Uttarakhand
Tehri dam is the Largest dam in India and the highest dam in the world. It is an Earth embankment dam that is built across the Bhagirathi river. The main purpose of this Dam was to build a hydroelectric project with thousand megawatts capacity with a computer storage scheme. However, when the dam was constructed, its diversified into an irrigation and Municipal water supply Dam as well. This Dam was conceptualised in 1961 and the construction of this Dam began in 1978. After a lot of Technical and financial assistance by the Soviet Union, the dam was completed in the late 20th century and it started to function in the year 2006.
Bakra Nangal in Himachal Pradesh
Bakra Nangal in Himachal Pradesh had the credit of being the highest dam in India before the Tehri Dam was opened. It is built across the river Satluj which is one of the biggest tributaries of the river Indus. This Dam supplies water to the Gobind Sagar Reservoir and stores 9. 34 million cubic metres of water. The Reservoir in itself is 90 km long and it is the third largest water Reservoir in India. This was described as a temple of resurgent India by Jawaharlal Nehru. The development of this Dam began in the year 1948 and was finally constructed and opened in the air 1963. It is a concrete gravity dam and it supplies water for irrigation in three states, namely, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. This them also has an electricity generation plant which was built in assistance from the Soviet Union that has a capacity of 1325 megawatts. Being in one of the richest waters, this damn also has a lot of Exotic fishes including a few endangered ones.
Sardar Sarovar Dam Gujarat
Anything that is great in the state of Gujarat has to have the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in it and the Sardar Sarovar Dam is not an exception to this golden rule. this Dam 6 across the river Narmada in the state of Gujarat and it supplies water and electricity to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. An interesting things to note about this dam is that the construction began in 1961 And was inaugurated in 2017, technically making it a Dame to become a saint by the first prime minister of India and to be inaugurated by the present Prime Minister of India. This Dam has one of the highest capacity and it irrigate about 17920 square km of land across 3400 villages. Dam also has a solar power generation unit in addition to the hydroelectric power unit. The installed capacity of this power generation unit is in the order of about thousand four hundred and Fifty megawatts.
The Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, and is the longest dam in the world. the total length of the dam is about 26 km and the length of the main them is 4. 8 km. The commencement of this Dam began in the year 1936 when one of the greatest engineers of India Sir M Visvesvaraya proposed a Dam to tackle the problem of floods on the river Mahanadi. In April 1948 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the first batch of concrete. The dam was completed in 1953 and was inaugurated in 1957. This Dam has a lot of fishes and is a great place for fishing economy. Hirakud Dam is one of the famous Biggest Dams of India
Nagarjuna Sagar is built across the river Krishna in the state of Telangana and in Nalgonda district. The construction of this Dam went on from 1955 to 1967 and it has a storage capacity of 11. 5 billion cubic metres. This Dam provides irrigation solution for the districts of Nalgonda, Suryapet, Krishna, Khammam, West Godavari, Guntur and Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This Nagarjuna Sagar also comes clubbed with a power station with an installed capacity of 816
These Constructions are nothing short of engineering and technological Marvels showing how much does human Intelligence can go to take control of nature and use it for the benefit of mankind and everyone around. Is a new country like India can construct these dams command the future of India only looks better with the upcoming projects that are expected to provide more irrigation and power to many other dry and infertile regions in India!