Ujani Dam

About Ujani Dam:

• It is located on the Bhima River near Ujjani village in Solapur district of the state of Maharashtra.
• It is an earth-fill cum masonry gravity dam.
• It was constructed between 1977 and 1980 with the primary objective of providing irrigation water and hydroelectric power to the region.
• With a total length of 2,534 m, the Ujani Dam is founded on massive basaltic rock formations and comprises a central portion, which is the spillway dam of 602m in length. 
• The dam has a height of 63 meters.
• With a storage capacity of 117 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), the dam has a live storage of 54 TMC, and 63 TMC is dead storage.
• Power Generation Capacity: 12MW
• Pollution: The water quality of the Ujani Dam is very bad as it contains hazardous pollutants from Pune and many other small cities located on the banks of the Bhima River or its tributaries.

Key Facts about Bhima River:

• The Bhima River (also known as the Chandrabagha River) is a major river in southwest India.
• It is a major tributaryof the Krishna River.
• Course:
  • It originates in the Bhimashankar hills near Karjat on the western side of the Western Ghats, in the Pune District of Maharashtra.
  • Bhima flows southeast through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.
  • It merges into the Krishna River at Kadlur (Raichur) in Karnataka.
• This 861 km-long river has the Western Ghats on the west, the Balaghat Range in the north, and the Mahadeo Hills in the south.
• The total basin area of the river is 48,631 sq. km, out of which 75 percent lie in thestate of Maharashtra.
• Major tributaries are the Sina and Nira rivers.
• Pandharpur is an important pilgrimage centre located on the right bank of the Bhima River.

Q1: What is a gravity dam?

A gravity dam is a type of dam structure that is primarily designed to resist the force of gravity and hold back water or other materials. It relies on its own weight and mass to counteract the horizontal pressure exerted by the water or other materials it is retaining. Gravity dams are among the oldest and most common types of dams used for various purposes, including water supply, irrigation, flood control, and hydroelectric power generation.

Source: 6 Drown As Boat Capsizes In Dam Backwaters In Pune