Hirakud Dam
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Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Orissa in India. Built in 1956, the dam is a large composite structure of earth and cement that forms a 55 km long lake.
Hirakud Dam has the distinction of being one of the longest dams in the world, about 16 mi (26 km) in length. It was the first post-independence major multipurpose river valley project in India.
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[edit] Construction history
After the devastating floods of 1937, Sir M. Visveswararya proposed a detailed investigation for storage reservoirs in the Mahanadi basin to tackle problem of floods in Mahanadi delta. In 1945, under the chairmanship of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, the then Member of Labour in Govt. of India, the decision was made that the potential benefits of the Mahanadi should be fruitfully and expeditiously investigated for multi-purpose use. Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission took up the work. On 15th March 1946, Sir Howthrone Lewis, the then Governor of Orissa laid the foundation stone of Hirakud Dam. The project report was submitted to the Government in June 1947. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru laid the first batch of concrete on 12th April 1948. The project was completed in 1953 and was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 13th January 1957. The Completed Cost of the Project was Rs. 100.02 crores (in 1957). Power generation along with supply for irrigation started in 1956 and the full potential was achieved by 1966.
Only 10 km north of Sambalpur the longest main stream earthen dam in the world measuring 24 km including the dykes, stands in its lonely majesty across the great river Mahanadi. Hirakud dam is a composite structure of earth, concrete and masonry. The main dam has an overall length of 4.8 km spanning between two hills; Lamdungri on the left and Chandili Dunguri on the right. The dam is flanked by 21 km long earthen dykes on both the left and right sides closing the low saddles beyond the abutment hills. It has the distinction of being the longest dam in the world, being 25.8 km long with dam and dykes taken together. It has also the rare distinction of forming the biggest artificial lake in Asia with a reservoir spread of 743 km² at full reservoir level.
[edit] Benefits
Hirakud dam intercepts 83,400 km² (32,200 mi²) of Mahanadi catchments. The reservoir has a storage of 5.818 km³ with gross of 8.136 km³. [1]
It drains an area of 133,090 km², more than twice the area of Sri Lanka. The bulk of Hirakud Dam consists of earth, concrete and masonry materials, sufficient to make a road 8 metres wide and pave it from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Amritsar to Dibrugarh in Assam. From horizon to horizon the reservoir forms the largest artificial lake in Asia with an area of 746 km² with a shoreline over 640 km. The twenty-one kilometre drive on the dyke offers a unique experience of the calm serenity and majesty of nature. One can enjoy the sight of the mighty Hirakud dam and the fantastic expanse of water from top of the revolving Gandhi Minar at the North and Jawahar Minar at the South. As the largest multipurpose river valley project of the world, envisaging flood control, power generation and irrigation is a real gift to the Nation - all for happiness and prosperity. With successful irrigation Sambalpur is termed as the rice bowl of Orissa. Here Photography is strictly prohibited.
The project provides 155,635 ha of kharif and 108,385 ha of rabi irrigation in industries of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, and Subarnpur. The water released through the power plant irrigates further 436,000 ha of CCA in Mahanadi delta. Installed capacity for power generation in 307.5 MW through its two power plants at Burla, at the right bank to and Chiplima, 22 km downstream from the dam. Besides the project provides flood protection to 9500 km² of delta area in district of Cuttack and Puri. Source: Dilip Kumar Padhi VU2DPI
Chiplima: The place has gained prominence as the second hydroelectric project of the Hirakud Dam. A natural fall of 80 to 120 feet (25–40 meters) in the river Mahanadi is made use for generating electricity. The place is mostly inhabited by fisherman, whose deity Ghantlei is very popular in the neighbouring area. The State Live Stock Breeding Farm and Agricultural Farm are located here.
Cattle Island exists in one of the extreme point of Hirakud Reservoir, a natural wonder. It is near to Kumarbandh village of Belpahar-Banharpali range which is about 90 km from Sambalpur town. But if someone travels by motor launch from Hirakud dam it is closer to 10 km on the river. The island is nothing but a submerged hill, and prior to Hirakud Dam construction was a developed village. The specialty about the island is the inhabitants, only comprises cattle group of animals. During the resettlement period, villagers left some of their cows and bulls and when the dam construction is over the cattle settled down on the hill-top. By the passage of time the nearby area filled up with the reservoir water and gave the shape of the hill-top looks like an island. Being away from mankind, the cattle are wild in nature and they never allow themselves to become the prey of human-beings. As they spend whole of their life on the hill filled up with dense forest, their shape and size are much bigger in comparison to the normal cattle. All are of white colour except a very few. Very swift like other wild animals. People living adjacent to the island sometime try to catch them, but rarely succeed in capturing those animals. We always hear about the cattle as the pet animals, but here is a contradiction, they can be also wild in nature.
[edit] Purpose
In the upper drainage basin of the Mahanadi River, centered on the Chhattisgarh Plain, periodic droughts contrast with the situation in the delta region where floods may damage the crops. The dam was constructed to help alleviate these problems by creating a reservoir.[2] The dam regulates the flow of the Mahanadi River and produces hydroelectricity through several hydroelectrical plants.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Hirakud Dam
- ^ Rivers in India. Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
- ^ Mahanadi River. Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
[edit] External links
sambalpur
