Dams are constructed across a river to store water and to provide water for human consumption like irrigating and for industrial use and dams provide a lake of activities such as fishing, boating, swimming. According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), there are 5,202 dams in India. This is not an exact list and there are so many small dams and barrages in India.
The top 10 dams in India are:
Tehri Dam:
It is also the Highest dam in India. It is located in Uttarakhand on the Bhagirathi river. Its construction cost is 250 crores USD. It has two gates controlled by spillway type. Tehri Dam is an earth and rockfill dam. Tehri Dam is the 8th highest dam in the world. Its height is 261 meters and length is of 575 meters. It has three phases and one phase is completed in the year 2006 and the remaining two phases are still in their ongoing stages. This dam can store water of 3,200,000 acre-feet. Its base width is of 1,128 m and peak width is of 20 m I .e.., 60 feet. The water in this dam is used for the irrigation process and municipal water supply and generating 1000 MW of hydroelectricity.
Bhakra Nangal Dam :
It is the second-highest and the largest dam in India. Its height is 225 meters and length is 520 meters. It is located in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh on the Sutlej river in northern India. This dam has the highest gravity on Earth. This dam consists of 10 power generators on both of its sides. The government has taken advancement plans after independence to construct Bhakra Nangal Dam. This water is also used for the irrigation process in rainstorm seasons. It is the second-largest dam in Asia. Its base width is 191m.
Sardar Sarovar Dam :
It is also called the Narmada dam. This is a massive project built on the Narmada river, Gujarat. It is a height of 163 meters and a length of 1210 meters. This dam can generate 200 MW of power which have benefits to the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. By this dam, 22,000 hectares of land get irrigated and 4 crore people get drinking water.
Hirakud Dam:
It is the longest dam in India and also in the world. It is located on the Mahanadi river in Odisha. This dam length is 26-kilo meters and height is 61 meters. Hirakud dam has two observation towers namely
- Gandhi Minar
- Nehru Minar
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam:
It is located on the Krishna river in Telangana as 1.6 km long. Its height is 124 meters. This dam consists of 26 gates. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is an example of India’s architecture and technological skills and it serves as an attractive tourist place in Telangana. It has a storage capacity of 11.472 billion cubic meters.
Koyna Dam :
Also Read:Â Indian History For Civil Services Main Exams book pdf by Krishna Reddy
Koyna dam is located on the Kona river in Maharastra. It is 103 m height from ground level. It has a capacity of 1920 MW to generate electricity. This dam is constructed by rubber concrete.
Indira Sagar Dam:
It is located in Madhya Pradesh with a height of 92 meters. This dam generates 1000 MW of its capacity. Indira Sagar dam has to handle water issues in that area.
Rihand Dam:
This dam is located in Uttar Pradesh on the rihand river. It is also called Gobind Ballabh Pant Sagar which construction has started in the year 1954 and ended in the year of 1962. Its height is 91.44 meters. It is the largest dam by its volume. Rihand dam is a concrete gravity dam.
Mettur Dam :
Mettur dam is located in Tamilnadu on the Cauvery river and height of 120 feet. It is also known as Stanley Reservoir. It was constructed in the year 1934. It is one of the oldest dams in India.
And another oldest dam in India is the Kallanai dam in Tamilnadu.
Krishna Sagar Dam:
It is located in Karnataka near Mysore.