According to the 7th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, water management falls under the state list, granting states the authority to manage water resources.
Dams are monumental structures that serve multiple purposes, such as reservoirs, water supply, irrigation, and flood control. They are categorized into gravity dams, earth-fill dams, and arch dams, with arch dams utilizing curved designs to transfer water pressure horizontally.
The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, dating to 3,000 BC.
HERE ARE SOME KEY FACTS ABOUT MAJOR DAMS IN INDIA:
Tehri Dam
Tallest dam in India with a height of 260.5 meters.
A 575-meter-long, multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam.
Located in Tehri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand, on the Bhagirathi River (a Ganga headstream).
Hirakud Dam
Longest dam in India and the longest earthen dam in the world.
Total length: 25.8 km; main section: 4.8 km; height: 61 meters.
Built on the Mahanadi River in Odisha.
Kallanai Dam
Fourth oldest water-diversion structure globally and the oldest in India still in use.
Known as the Grand Anicut, built by King Karikala of the Chola Dynasty in the 2nd century AD.
Remodeled by the British in the 19th century.
Situated in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, on the Kaveri River.
Indira Sagar Dam
Largest dam in India by water storage capacity.
Located in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh, on the Narmada River.
Sardar Sarovar Dam
Largest concrete dam in India by concrete volume (second largest globally after the Grand Coulee Dam, US).
Built under the Narmada Valley Project; operational since 2017.
Located in Narmada district, Gujarat, on the Narmada River.
Faces the 182-meter-tall Statue of Unity, the tallest statue in the world.
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam
Largest masonry dam in the world.
Spans the Krishna River between Andhra Pradesh (Palnadu district) and Telangana (Nalgonda district).
Submerged the ancient Buddhist settlement Nagarjunakonda, once the capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty (1st–2nd century AD).
Rihand Dam
Reservoir, Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar, is India’s largest artificial lake.
Located in Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh, on the Rihand River, a tributary of the Son River.
Salal Dam
A run-of-the-river hydropower project on the Chenab River.
Situated in Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir.
First hydropower project under the Indus Water Treaty built by India in J&K.
LIST OF MAJOR DAMS IN INDIA WITH STATE AND RIVER NAME
Can you Answer these Questions related to Dams -
What is the rank of India in building large dams?
Which is the highest dam in India?
Which is the longest dam in India?
What are the largest dams in India?
Which is the oldest dam in India?
Read NCERT Notes on Important Indian, World & Physical Geography Topics for various competitive exams like UPSC NDA CDS CAPF AC AFCAT SSC CGL etc here
