10 Major Dams In India, A Barrier That Holds Water Or Underground Streams

Water has always been one of the most important human requirements. Imagine a world without water and you would feel the shudders running down your spine. But what happens when water is available in abundance and wreaks havoc in the form of floods or is just not accessible to many. Well, that’s when Dams come in handy.

Flood control, hydroelectricity, irrigation and water storage are some of the benefits that dams provide. Since Independence, India has made tremendous progress in building dams and water reservoirs.

Here’s a list of ten major dams in India:

1. Tehri Dam– Uttarakhand

Tehri dam is the highest dam in India and eighth tallest in the world, with a height of 261 metres. It’s a multi-purpose rock and earth filled embankment dam and is located on the Bhagirathi river in Uttarakhand.

Its construction began in 1978 and was commissioned in the year 2006. Built at a cost of $1 billion USD, it has an installed capacity to generate 1000 MW of power. Its length is 575 metres and has a base width of 1128 m. Its reservoir can hold 3.2 million acre-ft of water.

2. Bhakra Nangal Dam– Himachal Pradesh & Punjab

Located on the river Sutlej, Bhakra and Nangal are in fact two different dams, but many times the name Bhakra Nangal dam is used together. Bhakra dam is situated in upstream of Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, while the Nangal dam is situated at Nangal, Punjab, about 13 km downstream of the Bhakra dam. Its construction began in 1948 and was commissioned in 1963.

With a length of 518 metres and standing tall at 226 metres, it’s the second tallest dam in India (after Tehri Dam) and is one of the highest gravity dams in the world. The dam has the capacity to produce 1325 MW of power. Its reservoir, known as Gobind Sagar Lake, is the second largest reservoir in India and can hold 9 billion cubic metres of water.

3. Sardar Sarovar Dam– Gujarat

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India had envisioned this project. The Sardar Sarovar dam, built on the river Narmada near Navagam in Gujarat, is the world’s second biggest concrete gravity dam in terms of volume (biggest is the Grand Coulee dam in USA). The construction of the dam began in April 1987 and was commissioned in the year 2017.

It’s height is 163 metres from foundation and is 1.2 km long. The dam has two powerhouses through which it generates hydroelectricity. The combined output of both the powerhouses is 1450 MW. Its reservoir can hold 4.7 million acre-ft of water. 1.1 lakh cubic metres of concrete was used to build this dam. It became one of the most controversial dams in India in the late 1980s.

4. Hirakud Dam– Odisha

Hirakud dam is built across the Mahanadi river in Sambalpur district of Odisha. Its one of the longest dams in the world with an overall length of 26 km, with the main section of the dam being 4.8 km long. Its construction began in 1948 and got commissioned in 1957. It is 61 metres tall.

The Hirakud reservoir is 55 km long and has a capacity of 4.7 million acre-ft. the total construction cost of the dam was 1 billion INR in 1957, which would be equivalent to 71 billion INR today. It has a capacity to generate 348 MW of power. The dam is flanked by 21 km of earthen dykes on left and right sides, with two observation towers at each end. One is “Gandhi Minar’ and the other is ‘Jawahar Minar’.

5. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam- Telangana

Nagarjuna Sagar dam is one of the world’s largest masonry dam (made out of masonry – mainly stone and brick, sometimes joined with mortar) in the world, built on the Krishna river in Nalgonda district of Telangana. Its construction began in the year 1955 and was commissioned in 1967, with a construction cost of 1.3 billion INR. Its 124 metres high and 1.5 km in length with 26 flood gates.

The dam has an installed capacity to generate 816 MW of power. The Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir has a total capacity of 9 million acre-ft., making it the second largest reservoir in India, next only to Indira Sagar reservoir. The dam is a very popular weekend tourist destinations, with thousands of tourists visiting it when the dam gates are opened.

6. Idukki Dam- Kerala

The Idukki dam is part of the Idukki Hydel Project along with two other dams at Cheruthoni and Kulamavu in Kerala. It is constructed across the Periyar river between two hills Kuravan and Kurathi. Periyar is the longest river in Kerala. Idukki dam is one of the highest arch dams in Asia, with a height of 168.9 metres. It is 366 metres long.

The construction of the dam started in April 1969 and was commissioned in February 1973. The powerhouse situated in Moolamattom, is the biggest underground power station in India. It has an installed capacity to generate 780 MW of power. The Idukki reservoir has an active capacity of 1.2 million acre-ft. An interesting fact is that the Idukki dam does not have any shutters to be opened and relies on the Cheruthoni dam to maintain the reservoir water level.

7. Indira Sagar Dam- Madhya Pradesh

Indira Sagar dam is built on the Narmada river in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh and is a part of the Indira Sagar Project (ISP). Narmada is the fifth largest river in India with the river flow length of 1.3 km. its construction began in the year 1983 and was commissioned in March 2005.

The dam is 92 metres high and 653 metres long. It has an installed capacity to produce 1000 MW of power and its powerhouse is the second largest surface powerhouse in India. Indira Sagar reservoir is largest reservoir in India with a water storage capacity of 9.9 million acre-ft.

8. Koyna Dam- Maharashtra

Koyna dam is built on the Koyna river in Koyna Nagar, Maharashtra. It is one of the largest dams in Maharashtra located at the Western Ghats. The construction of the dam started in 1956 and was commissioned in 1964. It is 103 metres high and 807 metres long. With an installed capacity to produce 1960 MW of power, it today is the largest completed hydroelectric power plant in India.

The lake created by the dam, called the Shivajisagar Lake, is surrounded by the natural beauty of Sahyadri mountain ranges. It has storage capacity of 2.2 million acre-ft. The dam has withstood many earthquakes in the past.

9. Mettur Dam- Tamil Nadu

The Mettur dam is located on the river Cauvery in Mettur, Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery – Mettur project was taken up in July 1925. The construction was completed in 1934 and the dam was inaugurated by the then Governor of Madras Sir George Fredrick Stanley, and hence the reservoir goes by the name, Stanley Reservoir. The Stanley Reservoir was the largest man-made reservoirs in Asia at that time.

It has a storage capacity of 2.1 million acre-ft. Mettur dam is one of the largest dams in India and the largest in Tamil Nadu. It is 65 metres high and 1.7 km long. There are two hydroelectric power stations in Mettur dam, one constructed during the British rule and the second in independent India, with a combined capacity of producing 240 MW. Of power. It provides irrigation and drinking water facilities for more than 12 districts in Tamil Nadu.

10. Maithon Dam- Jharkhand

The Maithon dam is built on the river Barakar, located Maithon in Jharkhand. The dam became functional in the year 1957. The dam was specifically designed to control flood and generate electricity.

The Dam is 50 metres high and 4.7 km long. It has an installed capacity to produce 60 MW of power. The underground power station is unique and first of its kind in the whole of South East Asia. The Maithon Lake reservoir is the biggest reservoir in the Damodar Valley. The lake is spread over an area of 65 square km.

The list is not any particular order and gives an overview of some of the major dams in different Indian states.