Hirakud Dam

INTRODUCTION
. Hirakud Dam is one of the longest dams in the world, about
16 mi (26 km) in length. It was the first major multipurpose
river valley project started after India's independence. The
name of the dam is mostly mis-pronounced in North India as
Hirakund which is actually Hirakud.
Before the devastating floods of 1937, Sir M. Visveswararya
proposed a detailed investigation for storage reservoirs in
the Mahanadi basin to tackle the problem of floods in the
Mahanadi delta. In 1945, under the chairmanship of Dr. B. R.
Ambedkar, the then Member of Labour, it was decided to
invest in the potential benefits of controlling the Mahanadi
for multi-purpose use. The Central Waterways, Irrigation and
Navigation Commission took up the work.[2]
 PURPOSE
• In the upper drainage basin of the Mahanadi River, centered on the Chattisgarh Plain, periodic droughts
contrast with the situation in the lower delta region where floods may damage crops. The dam was
constructed to help alleviate these problems by creating a reservoir and controlling river flow through
the drainage system. The dam regulates the flow of the Mahanadi River and produces hydroelectricity
through several hydroelectric plants.
• The dam helps control floods in the Mahanadi delta and irrigates 75,000 square kilometres of land.
Hydroelectricity is also generated. The Hirakud Dam regulates 83,400 km² (32,200 mi²) of Mahanadi's
drainage. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 5.818 km³ with gross of 8.136 km³.
• It drains an area of 133,090 km², more than twice the area of Sri Lanka. The amount of earth, concrete
and masonry materials used to build the dam is sufficient to make a road 8 metres wide and pave it
from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and from Amritsar to Dibrugarh in Assam. With successful irrigation
provided by the dam, Sambalpur is called the rice bowl of Orissa. Here photography is strictly
prohibited.
• The project provides 1,556 km² of kharif and 1,084 km² of rabi irrigation in districts of Sambalpur,
Bargarh, Bolangir, and Subarnpur. The water released by the power plant irrigates another 4360 km² of
CCA in Mahanadi delta. The dam can generate up to 307.5 MW of electrical power through its two
power plants at Burla, on the dam's right bank and Chiplima, 22 km downstream from the dam. In
addition, the project provides flood protection to 9500 km² of delta area in district of Cuttack and Puri.
Source: Dilip Kumar Padhi VU2DPI
• Chiplima has gained prominence as the second hydroelectric project of the Hirakud Dam. A natural fall
of 80 to 120 feet (25 to 40 m) in the river Mahanadi is used to generate electricity. The place is mostly
inhabited by fisherman, whose deity ghanteswari is very popular in the neighbouring area. The State
Livestock Breeding Farm and Agricultural Farm are located here.
IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT