The Bhakra Nangal dam refers to the set of two dams, 15 kms apart-Bhakra and Nangal, built across the Sutlej River in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, India. The construction of the dam was started in 1946 under the then chief engineer Rai Bahadur Kunwar Sen Gupta, and was completed in 1963; incurring a total cost of 245.28 crore INR.
The Bhakra Nangal dam is classified as a Straight Concrete Gravity Dam. A concrete gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete masonry designed to hold back water by utilising the weight of the material alone to resist the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. It is designed in such a way that each section of dam is stable and independent.
The dam, at 226 m (741 ft), is one of the highest gravity dams in the world (compared to USA's largest Hoover Dam at 743 ft). The length and width of the dam are 518.25 m and 9.1 m respectively. Its reservoir known as "Gobind Sagar" stores up to 9.34 billion cubic metres of water. In terms of quantity of water, it is the third largest reservoir in India, after Indira Sagar Dam and Nagarjunasagar Dam.
It is a multi-purpose dam serving irrigation in adjoining states, hydro-electric power generation, flood control and tourism. The dam provides irrigation to 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of fields in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Each of the two dam consists of power plant with five turbines, with a total capacity of 1325 MW. The power generated is distributed among partner states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chandigarh, Delhi. It has five flood gates to control floods. The administration and maintainance of the dams are managed by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMS).
The Bhakra Nangal Project was described as "New Temple of Resurgent India" by then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at the time of its inauguration, and it still continues to be the “central nervous system” of North India providing water and power supply.
For further details, please refer to:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakra_Dam
http://bbmb.gov.in/english/history_nangal_dam.asp
http://bhakranangaldam.com/interesting-facts-about-bhakra-dam
