Bhakra Dam

Bhakra Dam Latest News

Cutting across political lines, all Punjab parties recently unanimously decided not to spare a single drop of additional water to Haryana from the Bhakra dam. 

About Bhakra Dam

• It is a concrete gravity dam across the Sutlej River and is near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
• It is located at a gorge near the upstream Bhakra village in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.
• It is the highest straight gravity dam in the world, with a height of about 207.26 meters.
• It is Asia’s second tallest dam, next to the 261m Tehri Dam, also in India. 
• It has a length of 518.25 (1,700 ft) meters and a width of 9.1 meters (30ft) approximately.
• History:
  • The Bhakra Dam is one of the earliest river valley development schemes undertaken by India after independence. 
  • The construction of this dam started in 1948, when Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, poured the first bucket of concrete into the foundations of Bhakra. 
  • The dam was completed by the end of 1963.
  • Bhakra Dam was described as the ‘New Temple of Resurgent India’ by Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Operation and maintenance of the Bhakra dam is done by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
• Its reservoir, known as the “Gobind Sagar”, stores up to 9.34 billion cubic meters of water. 
  • The 90 km long reservoir created by the Bhakra Dam is spread over an area of 168.35 sq.km. 
  • In terms of storage of water, it is the second largest reservoir in India, the first being Indira Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh with a capacity of 12.22 billion cu m.
• Nangal Dam is another dam downstream of Bhakra Dam. Sometimes both the dams together are called the Bhakra-Nangal Dam though they are two separate dams.

Bhakra Dam FAQs

Q1. On which river is Bhakra dam?

Ans. Sutlej River

Q2. Is Bhakra dam the highest dam in India?

Ans. No, Bhakra Dam is not the highest dam in India. The highest dam in India is the Tehri Dam (261 m).

Q3. What type of dam is the Bhakra Dam?

Ans. Gravity dam

Source: NIE