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HIRAKUD DAM

25th September, 2023

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Key Facts about Hirakud Dam

  • Hirakud Dam is located around 15 kilometers from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha, across the Mahanadi River.
  • It is the world's longest earthen dam, measuring around 16 miles and 26 kilometers in length.
  • The dam creates the Hirakud Reservoir, also known as Hirakud Lake. It is Asia's largest man-made lake.
  • The main dam has an overall length of 4.8 km (3.0 mi) spanning between two hills; the Laxmidungri on the left and the Chandili Dunguri on the right.

History behind this dam

  • It is one of India's first multifunctional projects following independence.
  • The building began in 1948 and was finished in 1953.
  • It was created to control the flow of the Mahanadi River and manage the region's recurring flood problem.
  • The dam was inaugurated in 1957 by then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Structure of this dam

  • The dam's most common building materials are granite, hard concrete, and soil.
  • The main construction of Hirakud Dam is around 4.8 kilometers long, stretching from the Chandidungri hills on the right to the Lamdungri hills on the left.
  • The catchment area is approximately 83400 square kilometers, and the dam is a concrete, masonry, and earthen structure.

Purpose

  • The purpose of this project is to provide irrigation to 1,08,385 hectares of Rabi crops and 1,55,635 hectares of Kharif crops in Bolangir, Subarnapur, Bargarh, and Sambalpur.
  • The installed power generation capacity at Hirakud dam is 359.8 MW.
  • The water released by the powerhouse also irrigates about 436,000 hectares of land in the Mahanadi delta.
  • The Hirakud Project also protects the delta area in Cuttack and Puri districts, which encompasses an area of 9500 square kilometers.

Cattle Island:

  • Cattle Island is a small island located within the Hirakud Reservoir.
  • It is home to a huge herd of wild cattle, who are said to be descendants of animals left behind by locals when the dam was built in the 1950s.

The Mahanadi River:

  • It is one of India's major east-flowing peninsular rivers.
  • The river gets its name from the Sihawa range of hills in Chhattisgarh's Dhamtari district.
  • It flows southeasterly through Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
  • The basin's catchment area includes large areas of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, as well as lesser portions of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.
  • It flows a total of 860 kilometers before reaching the Bay of Bengal.
  • Seonath River, Jonk River, Hasdeo River, Mand River, Ib River, Ong River, and Telen River are the main tributaries of the Mahanadi.

Other Major Dams in India

List Of MajorList Of Major Dams in IndiaDams in India

State 

River 

Bhavani Sagar dam

Tamil Nadu

Bhavani

Tungabhadra Dam

Karnataka

Tungabhadra

Rihand Dam

Uttar Pradesh

Rihand

Maithon Dam

Jharkhand

Barakar

Koyna Dam

Maharashtra

Koyna

Bisalpur Dam

Rajasthan

Banas

Mettur Dam

Tamil Nadu

Kaveri

Krishnarajasagar Dam

Karnataka

Kaveri

Indira Sagar Dam

Madhya Pradesh

Narmada

Cheruthoni Dam

Kerala

Cheruthoni

Sardar Sarovar Dam

Gujarat

Narmada

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

Telangana

Krishna

Hirakud dam

Odisha

Mahanadi

Bhakra Nangal Dam

Punjab-Himachal Pradesh Border

Sutlej

Tehri Dam

Uttarakhand

Bhagirathi

PRACTICE QUESTION

Dam infrastructure is important to primary and secondary sectors of Indian economy. Discuss