what is Dam?

A dam is an obstacle that prevents the flow of water and leads to the construction of a drum. Dams are built primarily to generate electricity through water. This electric current is known as hydroelectricity.

 Dams made into dams not only prevent flooding but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human use, industrial, marine, and pedestrian use.

Advantages of Dams

The dams offer many economic, social, and environmental benefits and are useful in many problems related to water conservation and disaster risk management.

Flood Control


Undoubtedly, reducing flooding is very important in dams. Dams help control stormwater runoff by diverting their course to other uses, storing large amounts of water or releasing them with caution. Next, it helps save lives and leads to people leaving.


Water Storage


Clearly, this is one of the main uses of dams and reservoirs. The water stored in the dams helps to prevent water disasters during the dry season. It also ensures regular access to water for housing, industry, and agriculture.

Electricity Production


Over the years, hydroelectric power has emerged as an effective means of addressing the energy crisis in many parts of India. Also, being a clean energy source, hydroelectric power supplies do not contribute to any kind of pollution. Tehri Dam, Srisailam Dam, and Sardar Sarovar Dam are some of the highest energy plants in India.

Irrigation


One of the most important aspects of dams is their role in irrigation. Dams have helped farmers to deal with the problem of over-irrigation, which has led to an increase in crop production.


Waste Management


In addition to reducing flooding, dams often prove useful in keeping dangerous slides. In fact, they can also help prevent the formation of hazardous materials and subsequent pollution.


Recreation


One of the benefits of dams is that they also provide entertainment facilities for the people. One can enjoy sailing, ice skating, and fishing on stagnant water. The Maithon Dam and the Bakra Nangal Dam are very popular with tourists as places of entertainment.

So, here are Top 15 Major Dams in India

1. Bhavani Sagar dam 

Bhavanisagar Dam or Lower Bhavani Dam is located in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. The dam is constructed on the Bhavani river. It is one of the world’s largest Earthen Dam. The dam is situated some 16 km (9.9 mi) west of Sathyamangalam, is 35 km (22 mi) from Gobichettipalayam, and is 36 km (22 mi) north-east to Mettupalayam.

State: Tamil Nadu

Year of Completion: 1955

Type: Earthen

River: Bhavani

Height: 40 m

Length: 8 Km

Reservoir Capacity: 98580 m3

Hydro Power Capacity: 1920 Megawatt


2. Tungabhadra Dam


The Tungabhadra Dam is also known as Pampa Sagar is constructed across the Tungabhadra River, a tributary of the Krishna River. The dam is in Hosapete, Vijayanagara district of Karnataka. It is a multipurpose dam serving irrigation, electricity generation, flood control, etc. This is a joint project of erstwhile Hyderabad state and erstwhile Madras Presidency when the construction was started;[2] later it became a joint project of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh after its completion in 1953.

State: Karnataka 

Year of Completion: 1953

Type: Earthern Gravity Dam

River: Tungabhadra River

Height: 49.50 m

Length: 2449 m

Reservoir Capacity: 1,000,000,000 m3

Hydro Power Capacity: 72 Megawatt


3. Rihand Dam


Rihand Dam also known as Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar, is the largest dam in India by volume. The reservoir of Rihand Dam is called Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar and is India's largest artificial lake.[4] Rihand Dam is a concrete gravity dam located at Pipri in Sonbhadra District in Uttar Pradesh, India.[5] Its reservoir area is on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It is located on the Rihand River, a tributary of the Son River. The catchment area of this dam extends over Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh whereas it supplies irrigation water in Bihar located downstream of the river.

State: Uttar Pradesh

Year of Completion: 1962

Type: Concrete Gravity

River: Rihand

Height: 91 m

Length: 934 m

Reservoir Capacity: 10600000000 m3 

Hydro Power Capacity: 300 Megawatt


4. Maithon Dam


The Maithon Dam is located at Maithon, 48 km from Dhanbad, in the state of Jharkhand India. It is 15,712 ft (4,789 m) long and 165 ft (50 m) high.

This dam was specially designed for flood control and generates 60,000 kW of electric power. There is an underground power station, the first of its kind in the whole of southeast Asia. The dam is constructed on the Barakar River. The lake is spread over 65 square kilometers (25 sq mi).

State: Jharkhand

Year of Completion: 1957

Type: Concrete Cum Earthern

River: Barakar

Height: 50 m

Length: 4789 m

Reservoir Capacity:

Hydro Power Capacity: 60 Megawatt


5. Koyna Dam


The Koyna Dam is one of the largest dams in Maharashtra, India. It is a rubble-concrete dam constructed on the Koyna River which rises in Mahabaleshwar, a hill station in the Sahyadri ranges. It is located in Koyna Nagar, Satara district, in the Western Ghats on the state highway between Chiplun and Karad.

State: Maharashtra

Year of Completion: 1964

Type: Rubble-Concrete

River: Koyna

Height: 103.2 m

Length: 807.2 m

Reservoir Capacity: 2,267,900 acre-ft

Hydro Power Capacity: 1920 Megawatt


6. Bisalpur Dam


Bisalpur Dam is a gravity dam on the Banas River near todaraisingh in Tonk district, Rajasthan, India. The dam was completed in 1999 for the purpose of irrigation and water supply.

State: Rajasthan

Year of Completion: 1999

Type: Gravity Dam

River: Banas

Height: 39.5 m

Length: 574 m

Reservoir Capacity: 891,785-acre-ft

Hydro Power Capacity: 172 Megawatt


7. Mettur Dam


The Mettur Dam is one of the largest dams in India and also the largest in Tamil Nadu, located across the river Cauvery where it enters the plains. Built-in 1934, it took 9 years to complete. The maximum height and width of the dam are 214 and 171 feet, respectively. The dam receives inflows from its own catchment area, Kabini Dam and Krishna Raja Sagara Dams located in Karnataka. There is a park at the base of the dam called Ellis Park maintained by the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department. It provides irrigation and drinking water facilities for more than 12 districts of Tamilnadu and hence is revered as the life and livelihood-giving asset of Tamil Nadu.

State: Tamil Nadu

Year of Completion: 1934

Type:

River: Cauvery

Height: 37 m

Length: 1700 m

Reservoir Capacity:

Hydro Power Capacity:


8. Krishnarajasagar Dam


Krishna Raja Sagara, also popularly known as KRS, is a lake and the dam that creates it. They are close to the settlement of Krishna Raja Sagara in the Indian State of Karnataka. The gravity dam made of surki mortar is below the confluence of river Kaveri with its tributaries Hemavati and Lakshmana Tirtha, in the district of Mandya.

State: Karnataka

Year of Completion: 1938

Type: Masonry

River: Kaveri

Height: 39.8 m

Length: 2620 m

Reservoir Capacity: 1,368,847,000 m3

Hydro Power Capacity: 200 Megawatt


9. Indira Sagar Dam


The Indira Sagar Dam is a multipurpose Dam project of the state Madhya Pradesh on the Narmada River at the town of Narmada Nagar, Punasa in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh in India. The foundation stone of the project was laid by late Smt Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India on 23 October 1984.

State: Madhya Pradesh

Year of Completion: 2005

Type: Masonry Dam

River: Narmada

Height: 92 m

Length: 653 m

Reservoir Capacity: 12,200,000,000 m3

Hydro Power Capacity: 1000 Megawatt


10. Cheruthoni Dam

The Cheruthoni Dam, located in Idukki District, Kerala, India, is a 138m tall concrete gravity dam. This dam was constructed as part of the Idukki Hydroelectric Project along with two other dams at Idukki and Kulamavu. The project was completed with Canadian aid. The Government of Canada aided the Project with long-term loans and grants. S.N.C.Inc., Canada, a firm of Consulting Engineers were advising and assisting Project Engineers under the Canadian Aid.

State: Kerala

Year of Completion: 1973

Type: Concrete Gravity Dam

River: Cheruthoni

Height: 138.2 m

Length: 650.9 m

Reservoir Capacity: 1,996,000,000 m3

Hydro Power Capacity:


11. Sardar Sarovar Dam


The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a concrete gravity dam built on the Narmada river in Navagam near Kevadiya, Narmada District, Gujarat in India. Four Indian states, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, receive water and electricity supply from the dam. The foundation stone of the project was laid out by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 5 April 1961.

State: Gujarat

Year of Completion: 2017

Type: Gravity Dam

River: Narmada

Height: 163 m

Length: 1210 m

Reservoir Capacity: 77,00,000 acre-feet

Hydro Power Capacity: 1450 Megawatt


12. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam


Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna River at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Nalgonda district in Telangana and Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh. The dam provides irrigation water to the Nalgonda, Suryapet, Krishna, Khammam, West Godavari, Guntur, and Prakasam districts along with electricity generation.

State: Telangana

Year of Completion:

Type: Masonry Dam

River: Krishna

Height: 124 m

Length: 4863 m

Reservoir Capacity: 93,71,845 acre-feet

Hydro Power Capacity: 816 Megawatt


13. Hirakud dam


Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 kilometers (9 mi) from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha in India. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km (34 mi) long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India's independence.

State: Odisha

Year of Completion: 1957

Type: Composite Dam

River: Mahanadi

Height: 61 m

Length: 4.8 Km (longest dam in India)

Reservoir Capacity: 47,79,965 acre-feet

Hydro Power Capacity: 347.5 Megawatt


14. Bhakra Nangal Dam

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Sutlej River in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam forms the Govind Sagar reservoir.

The dam, located at a gorge near the (now submerged) upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh of height 226 m.[1] The length of the dam (measured from the road above it) is 518.25 m and the width is 9.1 m. Its reservoir is known as "Gobind Sagar" stores up to 9.34 billion cubic meters of water.

State: Himachal Pradesh and Punjab

Year of Completion: 1963

Type: Concrete Gravity

River: Sutlej

Height: 226 m

Length: 520 m

Reservoir Capacity: 75,01,775 acre-feet

Hydro Power Capacity: 1325 Megawatt


15. Tehri Dam

The Tehri Dam is the tallest dam in India. It 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 THDC India Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectric complex.

State: Uttarakhand

Year of Completion: 2006

Type: Rockfill

River: Bhagirathi

Height: 260.5 m

Length: 575 m

Reservoir Capacity: 21,00,000 acre-feet

Hydro Power Capacity: 1000 Megawatt