"Exploring India's Majestic Dams: Benefits, Hydroelectric Power, and Water Management"

DAMS OF INDIA

What are dams?

Dams are structures built across rivers or water bodies to regulate water flow and store water.

They play a crucial role in water resource management, providing irrigation, drinking water, and hydroelectric power generation.

Dams help control floods by storing excess water during periods of heavy rainfall and releasing it gradually.

Hydroelectric power is generated by harnessing the potential energy of flowing or falling water through turbines.

Dams create reservoirs that provide a reliable water supply for various purposes, including agriculture, industries, and domestic use.

Many dams also offer recreational activities such as boating, fishing, and tourism due to their scenic locations.

However, dam construction can lead to environmental and social impacts, including habitat loss, displacement of communities, and altered river ecosystems.

Regular maintenance and safety measures are crucial to ensure the structural integrity and safe operation of dams.

Sustainable and responsible water management practices should be considered when planning and managing dams.

 

How many dams in India?

In India, there are currently 5,334 dams, with 447 of them being particularly significant. Because they are built across a river or stream to hold water back, dams are significant structures.

As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, India has numerous dams across the country. The exact number may vary over time due to the construction of new dams and decommissioning of old ones. However, India has a significant number of large, medium, and small dams. According to reports, there are thousands of dams in India, with varying sizes and purposes, including irrigation, hydropower generation, and water storage. Some notable dams in India include Bhakra Dam, Tehri Dam, Sardar Sarovar Dam, Hirakud Dam, and Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, among many others. It's important to note that the exact count may change, and for the most up-to-date information, it is advisable to refer to the latest reports and government sources.

 

The Tehri Dam is a multi-purpose rock and earth- fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the primary dam of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectric complex. Phase 1 was completed in 2006, the Tehri Dam withholds a reservoir for irrigation, municipal water supply and the gnTehri Dameneration of 1,000 MW of hydroelectricity. Two more phases with an additional 400 MW run-of- the-river and 1,000 MW pumped storage hydroelectricity are under construction.

 

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is the world’s largest masonry dam built across Krishna River in Nagarjuna Sagar, Nalgonda District of Andhra Pradesh, India, between1955 and 1967. The dam contains the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir with a capacity of up to 11,472 million cubic metres. The dam is 490 ft (150 m). tall and 1.6 kmlong with 26 gates which are 42 ft (13 m).wide and 45 ft (14 m). tall. Nagarjuna Sagar was the earliest in the series of large infrastructure projects initiated for the Green Revolution in India; it also is one of the earliest multi-purpose irrigation and hydro-electric projects in India.

 

The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada River near Navagam, Gujarat,India. It is the largest dam and part of the Narmada Valley Project, a large hydraulic engineering project involving the construction of a series of large irrigation and hydroelectricmulti- purpose dams on the Narmada River. The project took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity

 

The dam, located at a gorge near the (now submerged) upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, is Asias second highest at 225.55 m (740 ft) high next to the 261m Tehri Dam also in India. The length of the dam (measured from the road above it) is 518.25 m; it is 9.1 m broad. Its reservoir, known as the "Gobind Sagar", stores up to 9.3n Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Sutlej River, and is near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in northern India.nBhakra Dam4 billion cubic meters of water, enough to drain the whole of Chandigarh, parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. The 90 km long reservoir created by the Bhakra Dam is spread over an area of 168.35 km2. In terms of storage of water, it withholds the second largest reservoir in India, the first being Indira Sagar dam in Madhya Pradesh with capacity of 12.22 billion cu m.

 

 

 

Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Orissa in India. Built in 1957, the dam is one of the world’s longest earthen dam. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km long. Hirakud Dam is the longest man-made dam in the world, about 16 mi (26 km) in length. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley project started after Indias independence. The name of the dam is mostly mis-pronounced in North India as Hirakund which is actually Hirakud